Russian school of masters of musical instruments. Dynasties of masters of the village of Shikhovo, Odintsovo district, Moscow region

23.09.2013

The history of the emergence of Russian folk instruments goes back to the distant past. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, iconographic materials, miniatures of handwritten books, popular prints testify to the diversity of the musical instruments of our ancestors. The ancient musical instruments discovered by archaeologists are true material evidence of their existence in Russia. In the recent past, the daily life of the Russian people was unthinkable without musical instruments. Almost all of our ancestors owned the secrets of making simple sound instruments and passed them down from generation to generation. Familiarity with the secrets of craftsmanship was instilled from childhood, in games, in work that was feasible for children's hands. Watching the work of the elders, teenagers received the first skills in creating the simplest musical instruments. Time passed. The spiritual ties of generations were gradually broken, their continuity was interrupted. With the disappearance of the folk musical instruments that once existed everywhere in Russia, mass familiarization with the national musical culture was also lost.

Nowadays, unfortunately, there are not so many craftsmen left who have preserved the traditions of creating the simplest musical instruments. In addition, they create their masterpieces only for individual orders. The manufacture of tools on an industrial basis is associated with considerable financial costs, hence their high cost. Not everyone can afford to buy a musical instrument today. That is why there was a desire to collect materials in one article that will help everyone to make this or that instrument with their own hands. Around us are a large number of familiar materials of plant and animal origin, which we sometimes do not pay attention to. Any material will sound if skillful hands touch it:

From a nondescript piece of clay, you can make a whistle or an ocarina;

Birch bark, taken from a birch trunk, will turn into a large horn with a beep;

A plastic tube will acquire sound if a whistle device and holes are made in it;

Many different percussion instruments can be made from wooden blocks and plates.

Based on publications about Russian folk instruments and the experience of different people in their manufacture, recommendations have been made that may be useful in the process of working on them.

* * *

For many peoples, the origin of musical instruments is associated with the gods and lords of thunderstorms, blizzards and winds. The ancient Greeks attributed the invention of the lyre to Hermes: he made an instrument by stretching the strings on a tortoise shell. His son, a forest demon and the patron of shepherds, Pan was certainly depicted with a flute consisting of several stems of reeds (Pan's flute).

In German fairy tales, the sound of a horn is often mentioned, in Finnish - a five-stringed kantele harp. In Russian fairy tales, warriors appear to the sounds of a horn and pipe, against which no force can withstand; miraculous gusli-samoguds themselves play, sing songs themselves, make them dance without rest. In Ukrainian and Belarusian fairy tales, even animals danced to the sounds of bagpipes (duda).

The historian, folklorist A.N. Afanasiev, author of the work "Poetic views of the Slavs on nature", wrote that various musical tones, born when the wind blows in the air, identify "expressions for wind and music": from the verb "to blow" came - duda , pipe, blow; Persian. dudu - the sound of a flute; German blasen - blow, winnow, trumpet, play a wind instrument; beep and harp - from buzz; buzz - the word used by the Little Russians to denote the blowing wind; compare: nozzle, sipovka from snotty, sniffle (hiss), hoarse, whistle - from whistle.

Wind music sounds are created by blowing air into the instrument. The breath of the wind was perceived by our ancestors as coming from the open mouths of the gods. The fantasy of the ancient Slavs brought together the howling of the storm and the whistling of the winds with singing and music. So there were legends about singing, dancing, playing musical instruments. Mythical representations, combined with music, made them a sacred and necessary accessory of pagan rites and holidays.

No matter how imperfect the first musical instruments were, nevertheless, they required the ability of musicians to make and play them.

For centuries, the improvement of folk instruments and the selection of the best samples did not stop. Musical instruments took on new forms. There were constructive solutions for their manufacture, methods for extracting sounds, playing techniques. The Slavic peoples were the creators and keepers of musical values.

The ancient Slavs honored their ancestors and glorified the Gods. The glorification of the Gods was performed in front of the sacred goddesses in temples or under open sky. Ceremonies in honor of Perun (god of thunder and lightning), Stribog (god of the winds), Svyatovid (god of the Sun), Lada (goddess of love), etc. were accompanied by singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and ended with a common feast. The Slavs revered not only invisible deities, but also their habitats: forests, mountains, rivers and lakes.

According to researchers, song and instrumental art of those years developed in close relationship. It is possible that ritual chanting contributed to the birth of instruments with the establishment of their musical structure, since temple songs-prayers were performed with musical accompaniment.

The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simokatta, the Arab traveler Al-Masudi, the Arab geographer Omar ibn Dast confirm the existence of musical instruments among the ancient Slavs. The latter in his "Book of Precious Treasures" writes: "They have all sorts of lutes, psaltery and flutes..."

In Essays on the History of Music in Russia from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century, the Russian musicologist N. F. Findeisen notes: splendor, they would not be able to make their own musical instruments, completely regardless of whether there were similar instruments in neighboring regions.

There are few references to the ancient Russian musical culture.

Musical art of Kievan Rus

According to researchers, the following musical instruments were known in Kievan Rus:

Wooden pipes and horns (horns for military and hunting);

Bells, clay whistles (ceremonial);

Pan flute, consisting of several reed tubes of different lengths fastened together (wind ritual);

Gusli (string);

Nozzle and flute (wind instruments yards long);

In preparing the article, materials were used:

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31.12.2015 16:19

Traditionally, musical instruments are made from materials with high quality resonating properties, aged in the natural environment for many years to maintain acoustic qualities and a stable structure. The resonance tree is harvested exclusively in the cold season. Spruce and fir are unique in their musical properties.

To create a deck in almost every musical instrument, spruce or fir is taken. Specialists with particular care choose the so-called resonant wood. The tree trunk should not have flaws and be with equally wide growth rings. Wood dries naturally for ten years or more. In the manufacture of musical instruments, the resonant properties of wood species are of exceptional importance. In this case, the trunk of spruce, Caucasian fir and Siberian cedar is more suitable than others, since their radiation power is the greatest. For this reason, these types of wood are included in GOST.

One of the necessary requirements when creating musical instruments is the choice of wood. For many centuries, resonant spruce species have been of the greatest interest to craftsmen. It was difficult to acquire raw materials of the required quality, so the craftsmen had to independently harvest wood in the manufacture of tools.

Quite a long time ago, the places of spruce growth with the necessary properties became known. The chief violin maker of the Russian trend of the 20th century, E.F. Vitachek, marked in his works the territories where spruce grew. In the Saxon and Bohemian species, a large amount of resin was ate, it cannot be used in the manufacture of instruments of the highest class ... Spruce from Italy and Tyrol was considered the best raw material ... Luten makers ordered Tyrolean wood from the city of Füssen, which is between Bavaria and Tyrol, and Italian view from the port of Fiume on the Adriatic.

In the mountains near Fiume in Italy, forests practically do not grow. Therefore, we can assume that the spruce was not from Italy, but from Croatia or Bosnia. There was also an additional territory from where spruce was brought for craftsmen from Italy - these were the Black Sea port cities - spruce from Russia, the Caucasus and from the Carpathians. As Vitachek wrote, since N. Amati worked, spruce is more often used on the outer decks of instruments, which is heavier, denser and rougher, while maple, on the contrary, has a low density. This is a very good combination: the sound becomes similar to the sound of a human voice. Italian masters have always used just such a combination of maple and unctuous wood.

However, spruce can have such properties only if it grows at the right level relative to the sea surface, that is, in the Alps or in the Caucasus. A variety of the Picea orientalis breed, which grows in the highlands of the Caucasus and Asia Minor at an altitude of one to two and a half kilometers, is similar in its qualities to the best types of spruce in the European highlands. As a rule, it grows next to Nordmann or Caucasian fir (Abies nord-manniana), which also has excellent acoustic characteristics. The famous Russian violin makers of the early 20th century, in most cases, used spruce from the Caucasus to create their instruments.

Types of wood used in the manufacture of musical instruments

When creating low-cost plucked tools, it is possible to use waste from woodworking factories, beams and boards of houses intended for demolition, parts of furniture and waste containers. But these materials need special drying and selection. When creating high-quality tools, it is required to use uncommon types of trees.

Spruce

Instrument decks and other parts are made of resonant spruce. Different subspecies of spruce grow almost everywhere in Russia. Spruce is taken as a resonant one, mainly in the central part of Russia. The firs of the north of Russia are more popular and better in terms of their physical and mechanical qualities. One of the best features is the presence of small growth rings, making the tree elastic and suitable as a resonator.

Resonant trees are selected from the main amount of prepared sawn timber in forestry warehouses. These logs go to sawmills where they are sawn into 16mm boards. In order to acquire more wood, logs are sawn in six steps.

On wood for musical instruments there should be no knots, pockets with resin, sagging and other flaws. This is a strict quality requirement. Spruce wood is white with a slight yellow tint, and when exposed to open air becomes quite yellow over time. Layered planing and scraping of spruce occurs without problems with a clean and glossy cut. Sanding gives the wood surface a velvety finish and a slight matte sheen.

Fir

In addition to spruce, to obtain resonant wood, you can take fir growing in the Caucasus. It does not have many differences from spruce, both externally and when checking physical and mechanical parameters.

Birch

Birch forests account for two thirds of the total number of forests in Russia. Industrial production uses warty birch and downy birch. Birch wood is white in color, sometimes has a yellowish or reddish tint, and is easy to process. During tinting, the dye is absorbed evenly, and the tone is even. If birch wood is dried evenly and aged for a sufficient amount of time, then it can be used in the manufacture of such parts of musical instruments as fretboards and staves. In addition, plywood is made from birch, which is used for the production of guitar bodies. Tools are trimmed with clean or painted birch veneer.

Beech

Beech is often used in the manufacture of musical instruments. Parts of the necks, stands and bodies of the harp and other parts of the plucked instruments in the music industry are made of beech wood. Beech grows in the southeastern part of Russia. The color of the beech wood is pinkish with a mottled pattern. The good resonant properties of beech make it suitable for instrument making. Beech wood is processed and polished by hand. When stained, stripes remain on the surface, which are visible when finished with a clear varnish.

Hornbeam

To imitate ebony, dyed hornbeam is used in the manufacture of necks and bodies. Also, hornbeam wood has a solid and durable structure. The hornbeam grows on the Crimean peninsula and in the mountains of the Caucasus. Hornbeam wood is white with a gray tint. The wood is planed well, but it is difficult to polish.

Maple

Maple is just as in demand in the creation of expensive musical instruments as resonant spruce. Maple wood stringed bodies give a good sound. Maple species sycamore and holly are used most widely. These species grow on the Crimean Peninsula, in the foothills of the Caucasus, and in Ukraine. Maple wood bends well, and its wood pulp has a significant density and viscosity. The texture is stripes of dark color on a pink-gray background. When applying varnish on sycamore maple, a beautiful mother-of-pearl surface is obtained. If staining is done correctly, this property of maple is enhanced.

The Red tree

This name bears several types of wood with different shades of red. Basically, this is the name of mahogany, which grows in Central America. This type of wood is also used for the production of necks, as it has good mechanical properties. If you cut the trunk across and make a transparent finish, then it will look very beautiful, although it is inconvenient for processing.

Rosewood

These are several breeds that grow in South America. Rosewood wood lends itself well to cutting and polishing, but in this case it is necessary to fill the pores and polish. During processing, a special sweetish smell appears. Rosewood has very hard and strong fibers, purple to chocolate color, it is used in the creation of stringed instruments.

Ebony

A type of ebony tree that grows in South India. The best necks and bodies are made from ebony wood. The highest mechanical qualities of wood provide the tools with the necessary strength and hardness. With a greater weight of the neck when using ebony wood, the center of gravity of the instrument shifts towards the neck, this is very much appreciated by professional performers. The ebony carapace, when properly polished, avoids overtones if the plectrum jumps off the string. Ebony fretboards are abrasion resistant and provide excellent fret grip.

Nicolo Amati (Italian Nicolo Amati) (December 3, 1596 - April 12, 1684) - one of the most famous masters of the Amati family. Creator of many stringed instruments, including cellos. The teacher of such illustrious masters of creationstring instruments like Antonio Stradivari and Giuseppe Guarneri.

Biography

Nicolò Amati was born on December 3, 1596 in Cremona. His father was Girolamo (Jeronimus) Amati, the son of Andrea Amati, the founder of the violin school. He, like his entire family, lived and worked in Cremona. Nicolo is the most famous representative of the family.

Amati brought the type of violin developed by his predecessors to perfection. In some large-format violins (364-365 mm) of the so-called Grand Amati, he enhanced the sound while maintaining the softness and tenderness of the timbre. With the elegance of form, his instruments make a more monumental impression than the work of his predecessors. The varnish is golden yellow with a slight brown tint, sometimes red. The cellos of Nicolo Amati are also excellent. Very few violins and cellos, created by the most famous of the masters of the Amati family - Nicolo, have survived - just over 20.

Also one of his students was his son Girolamo Amati II (1649-1740). But he did not justify the hopes of his father, and under him the famous school was closed.

STRADIVARI, Stradivarius Antonio (c. 1644-1737) - Italian violin maker, student of the famous N. Amati. From a young ageyears until the last days of his life, Stradivari worked in his workshop, driven by the desire to bring the violin to the highest perfection. More than 1,000 instruments have been preserved, made by the great master and distinguished by the elegance of form and unsurpassed sound qualities. Stradivari's successors were masters C. Bergonzi (1683-1747) and J. Guarneri (1698-1744). The famous violin maker I. A. Batov was called the “Russian Stradivarius”.

Ivan Andreevich Batov(1767 - 1841, St. Petersburg) - the first famous Russian master of musical instruments.
He was a serf of Count N. I. Sheremetev. He studied in Moscow with the master Vladimirov. He made musical instruments on the count's estate near Moscow for his orchestra. From 1803 he lived in St. Petersburg. Sheremetev wished that Batov also learned a new craft for those times - piano making. Batov learned this from Master Gauk. Sheremetev allowed him to take orders only from musicians. According to legend, Batov made the violinist and balalaika player Prince Potemkin from an old coffin board a balalaika, for which Count A. G. Orlov offered a thousand rubles. Batov repeatedly repaired instruments for the musicians of the royal court. In 1822 he received from D. N. Sheremetev a free, according to the stories, for the cello of his work. I. A. Batov achieved special skill in the manufacture of stringed instruments - guitars, violins, cellos. He considered the manufacture of double basses to be a thankless task, he made them only in Vladimirov's workshop.

During his life, Batov created 41 violins, 3 violas, 6 cellos and 10 guitars. He restored many old violins of Italian work. Batov paid special attention to the quality of wood for tools. He did not spare money to purchase it and often bought old doors and gates for the material.

Krasnoshchekov I. Ya.
Ivan Yakovlevich (30 I (10 II) 1798, Znamenka village of Zaraisky near Ryazan province - 19 (31) VII 1875, Moscow) - Russian. instr. master.He studied from 1810 with M. Dubrovin in Moscow, where in 1824 he opened his own. workshop. Produced premium. 7-string guitars as well as violins. The instruments of his work were played by almost all prominent Russian. guitarists. He was friendly with M. T. Vysotsky, he used his advice. Instruments K., distinguished by a soft silvery timbre sound and fine arts. decoration, highly valued. In 1872, the guitar of his work was awarded a gold medal at the Moscow. Polytechnic exhibition.

Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov(1857-1916) - an outstanding Vilgort master of stringed Russian folk instruments, who created wonderful samples of balalaikas, domras and gusli of various sizes and systems and gained fame as "Komi Stradivari".

In 1886, S. I. Nalimov made his first domra, a musical instrument that had long been out of use.Nalimov gave this instrument a new life. S. I. Nalimov made over 250 instruments. The instruments made by the master were highly appreciated by specialists, they were awarded a bronze medal at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900 and a gold medal at the Musical World exhibition in St. Petersburg in 1907. An outstanding master in the manufacture of stringed Russian folk instruments, who created wonderful samples of balalaikas, domras and gusli of various sizes and systems. He worked with the Great Russian Orchestra of V. V. Andreev, in a workshop specially equipped for him in the estate of V. V. Andreev (the village of Maryino, Bezhetsky district, Tver province).

“The technique for making balalaikas and domras by Semyon Ivanovich Nalimov was unattainable, which, in connection with the selection of the bestmaterial makes each instrument released from his hands - the ideal of perfection, ”wrote Nikolai Privalov in the article“ Balalaika Stradivarius ”. In addition to excellent musical and acoustic data, Nalimov's instruments are distinguished by their rare elegance in shape and the beauty of their external finish. In addition to a label pasted inside the case indicating the master's name, date and serial number, all Nalimov's instruments have a special mark in the form of a coat of arms inlaid with colored wood in the upper right corner of the head. “The Great Russian orchestra would never have been brought to the present degree of instrumental perfection if Andreev had not been lucky enough to meet and recruit S. I. Nalimov for himself.” The joint work of Andreev with Nalimov and other masters and musicians led to the fact that Russian folk musical instruments gained worldwide fame.

http://slovari.yandex.ru

ARHUZEN Robert Ivanovich(born October 4, 1844, St. Petersburg, - died January 20, 1920, Moscow), is a famous Russian guitar master. The son of the famous instrumental master I.F. Arhuzen, younger brother of F.I. Arhuzen. Received home education. From the age of fourteen he studied the art of making musical instruments from his father. He worked first in St. Petersburg, and since 1875 - in Moscow. He was one of the best Russian guitar masters. The instruments of his work, distinguished by the strength and variety of sound, the beauty of the timbre, the elegance of the finish, were highly valued and awarded at the All-Russian Industrial Exhibitions in 1871, 1872 and 1882. He began his activity with the manufacture of inexpensive guitars - 25 rubles apiece, and at the insistence of V.A. Rusanova began to design them of very high quality, in connection with which the price also rose - up to 200 rubles. Designing one guitar took up to a month of work. The best guitar R.I. Arhuzen is considered to be a large guitar, presented to him in the summer of 1908 by V.A. Rusanov. Among the best tertz guitars is an eleven-string instrument made in 1908, made by order of V.P. Mashkevich. Of the family of guitar makers, Arkhuzenov enjoyed the greatest fame.

ARKHUZEN Ivan (Johann) Fedorovich (born 1795, Copenhagen, Denmark, - d. February 21, 1870, St. Petersburg, Russia), is a famous instrumental master. Father of guitar makers R.I. and F.I.Arkhuzenov. From the age of three until the end of his life he lived in St. Petersburg. In his youth, he worked at the Brel tool factory. In 1818 he opened his own workshop for the manufacture of harps, guitars and pianos, where he made good, but expensive instruments (guitars for 40 rubles apiece and more). In 1856, one of the guitars of I.F. Arkhuzena was awarded the second prize (500 francs) for the best instrument at the International Guitar Competition in Brussels, organized by N.P. Makarov (the guitar of the Austrian master I. Scherzer received the first prize).

ARKHUZEN Fedor Ivanovich - guitar master, son and student of I.F. Arhuzen, elder brother of R.I. Arhuzen. After the death of his father, he worked with his brother in St. Petersburg, and after the latter left for Moscow in 1875, he continued to work independently. Instruments F.I. Arhuzen are distinguished by solid construction and clean work. The master imitated the Scherzer model, but made guitars with a very large scale - 66.0 - 66.5 cm with a body length of 46.5 - 48.0 cm, and also went his own way, making various experiments. This is evidenced by the guitar of his work in 1890 with four soundboards (upper, two lower and one inside the body)

http://guitar-nsk.ru/

Guitar masters. Austria

* Scherzer, Johann Gottfried (Scherzer, Johann Gottfried). – Vienna.

Renowned guitar maker. He apparently came from Vogtland. In addition to guitars, he designed mandolins and violins. A very cultured craftsman who introduced many innovations (metal rod inside the body, second bottom soundboard, hidden ivory mechanics, etc.). Designed guitars in three sizes: quart, tertz and large. All the time he strove to enhance the tone of the instrument and in this regard increased the size of its body. Scherzer introduced the Ferrari ten-string guitar into Austria, designed the Petzval harp guitar, kept in the collection of the Vienna Friends of Music Society, and, commissioned by M.D. Sokolovsky, a seventeen-string guitar. He independently set up several experiments on acoustics and contributed a lot to physicists and scientists, willingly going towards the implementation of their ideas. He lived first at 65 Gundstromstrasse and then at 99 Margaretenstrasse.

F. Buek in his book "Die Gitarre und ihre Meiser" says the following about Scherzer:

“Johann Gottfried Scherzer /1834-1870/ seems to have been a student of Johann Georg Staufer. He had his workshop at Gundsturmstrasse, No. 65, and later at Margaretenstrasse, No. 99. His guitars were noted for their large format, clean workmanship and strong tone. He was the first to introduce additional basses on a six-string guitar, and also used mechanics instead of wooden tuning pegs. The Russian virtuoso guitarist Makarov, who found and ordered many guitars from him in Vienna, called him the best guitar maker in Germany and preferred his instruments over all the instruments of that time. Therefore, Scherzer's guitars went to Russia in large numbers, and they were used mainly by professional guitarists and virtuosos. The Russian virtuoso guitarist Sokolovsky owned a Scherzer guitar, as did his followers Solovyov and Lebedev. In Brussels, at the Makarov competition, Scherzer received the First Prize for a guitar with three additional basses. The virtuoso guitarist Sokolovsky ordered Scherzer a guitar with fifteen basses. When this instrument passed the Russian border, the customs did not know what to call it, since guitars of this shape and volume were not known. Due to the fact that this instrument could not be attributed to an ordinary guitar, they gave it the name "harp guitar" and considered it a transition from a harp to a guitar. A peculiar pear-shaped guitar with a very wide body and a scale length of 59 cm also belongs to Mr. Kern from the Munich Guitar Quartet. This great sounding and cleanly made instrument is one of the solo guitars that originated in Vienna, were made for small hands and later rebuilt by instrument maker Lux and others. These guitars, which are always pear-shaped, have the same pitch as a prim guitar. Scherzer guitars, as concert guitars, have fallen out of use by modern artists, since the bass character makes them unsuitable for solo playing, and the neck does not meet modern requirements. As an accompaniment instrument, these guitars are of great service, as Sepp Summer testifies."

This note requires some adjustments, namely:

1.) If 1834 is indicated as the date of Scherzer's birth, then this is a mistake, since it cannot be that he worked as an apprentice under the age of 16 with Staufer, who died in 1850. Makarov, who found Scherzer in 1852. does not call him a young man.

2.) The introduction of additional basses on a six-string guitar is attributed to the Italian master and guitarist Giambattista Ferrari, who worked in Modena in 1853-1889, although already L.Legnani in 1808 performed in concerts on the guitar with two additional basses (6 + 2) . Ferrari is considered the inventor of the ten-string guitar.

3.) Even before Scherzer, Staufer and Panarmo used mechanical splitters.

4.) The guitar of M.D. Sokolovsky had twelve, not fifteen additional basses.

5.) Buek's opinion of Scherzer's guitars is bewildering. Most of the best instruments of this master went to Russia, and it may be impossible to judge their quality by the guitars preserved in Austria and Germany. But to declare that Scherzer's guitars are unsuitable for solo performance in concerts "due to their bass character" and "narrowness of the neck" is unreasonable, since by selecting basses of the appropriate thickness, you can achieve the same sound of core and bass strings, and the neck can be expanded or changed to a wider one. After all, he allowed the modernization of the fretboard of his tertz guitar by F. Schenk!

Production of a national musical instrument using casting technology. Design work done by Kirillin Innokenty. With. Dyabyla. 2010

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Ministry of Science and Vocational Education

Republic of Sakha Yakutia

State educational institution

Professional Lyceum No. 14

Project work

Production of a national musical instrument using casting technology

Completed by: Kirillin Innokenty

Student of the "Automechanic" group

Head: Bayagantaev P.S.

With. Dyabyla. 2010

• Introduction
• 1. Traditional and modern technologies for making Yakut khomus
• 2. Yakut khomus music and its ancient production technology
• 3. Substantiation of the project topic
  • Design specification
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Application
• Introduction

The relevance of this project work lies in the fact that at present there is a problem of serial production of khomuses using modern technologies. Most modern masters work according to ancient technology. These technologies are labor-intensive, require the use of physical force and require a lot of time. Based on this, we are faced with the task of facilitating and accelerating the process of working on the main elements - the Khomus hull. Thanks to the introduction of casting technology in the process of making khomus, you can win both in time and in reducing physical exertion. So in eight hours for one casting process, you can get 8-10 semi-finished hulls.

The purpose of this project work is the production of khomus by casting in professional foundry equipment.

Object of study: the process of making khomus.

Subject of study: the process of manufacturing a khomus body by casting.

The main tasks are:

· Propaganda and distribution to the population of a musical instrument - khomus.

· Implementation of the Code of Criminal Procedure at GOU PL No. 14 serial production of khomus cases.

· Inculcation to the original culture of the people of Sakha through the process of making khomus.

The novelty of our project lies in the fact that in the manufacture of the "Khomus" case, the casting method is used on modern foundry equipment (vacuum casting machine), which significantly reduces labor costs and reduces costs.

The problem is that the outdated method of making khomus is too ordinary. Khomuses made by simple technology are not in great demand among buyers. modern khomus is valued not only for its beauty, sound, quality, but also for the fact that it is made of metals such as alloyed steels, brass, bronze, copper, which do not corrode. All khomus makers should be aware of these and other methods of modern technology, since the new technique largely meets modern requirements. It teaches the correctness of the compositional solution, aesthetics, extraordinary sound, in all accuracy, etc. But at the same time, one should not forget the traditional forms of khomus.

When performing the design work, a theoretical method was used, which includes the study of special, methodological literature and a practical, experimental method in the manufacture of the khomus body by casting technology.

Research hypothesis: the introduction of our technology will improve the quality and productivity of khomus production.

Nowadays, the jew's harp has become one of the sound markers of musical expression among the peoples of Siberia. Meanwhile, for many Siberian peoples, this instrument performs a game or production function in culture.

He appears in different periods of development of these cultures and, naturally, had a difference in his design. This musical has come down to our days from the depths of centuries, the origin of which scientists attribute in South Asia to the Stone Age, and in Europe, according to the American musicologist F. Crane, 5 thousand years. Khomus is one of the most popular representatives of the Yakut folk instrumentation. It has attracted the attention of many researchers.

1. Traditional and modern technologies for making Yakut khomus

Handicraft metallurgy of the Yakut blacksmiths and the history of handicraft culture

At the end of the XIX century. The traditional centers of iron-making production were considered in Vilyui: Asykaysky, Odeysky, Kangalassky, Khorinsky, Mentsky, 1 Udegeysky Nasleg. In the Yakutsk Okrug, Khachikatsy, Zhemkontsy of the East Kangalassky ulus, some of the nasleg of the West Kangalassky and Bayagantaysky uluses were engaged in iron smelting.

According to the inquiry questionnaires sent by the Yakut branch of the Russian Geographical Society to 208 addressees of the region, more detailed answers were given from Vilyui. It was 1913. By that time, many smelters were inactive, in particular, the metallurgical centers on the Lena and Aldan ceased to exist. From Verkhnevilyuisk, a local teacher V.G. Monastyrev in the questionnaire-response stated: "Semi-steel is smelted from local ore." Kentik and Satin masters continued the hereditary profession of their ancestors by the beginning of our century. The technology and secrets of craftsmanship were passed down from generation to generation. Under their leadership, close relatives of the smelter or the customers themselves were involved in the smelting process. (22)

A number of factors directly affected the final yield and quality of bloomery iron, including the high enrichment of iron-containing raw materials, high-quality roasting, and coal hardness. At the same time, a lot depended on the individual experience of the metallurgist himself, the ability to manage the course and process of smelting.

The melting furnace is charged like a sleeve with solid fuel and ore material. As the fuel burns, its level drops lower, entering the zone of intense combustion. The temperature reaches 1300-1400 C. The ore melts and goes down, forming a spongy mass. Master, observing the progress of burning coal and smelting furnace. To do this, the ore carrier, with a ladle of about 20 kg, has to climb the stairs and load from above. Benign charcoal contained reducing agents that helped to remove gangue and quickly react the reducing agents with iron oxide.(1)

During the production session, backfilling was carried out 12-13 times. Furriers changed each other every half an hour. The air supply did not stop even during the lunch break. In the final stage of the smelting process, the Yakut domnik released liquid slag through a drilled doorway.

After the smelting was completed, the blooming iron was taken out of the nest. This is a very labor intensive operation. Workers, children, old people, women helped. A frozen long log of small thickness was used as a lever. And they lowered the hot cry along the inclined plane to the place where they hurried to cut it into pieces with steel axes. We tried not to miss the temperature heating of the blank. And after sorting the bloomery iron into “sureh timir” (way of life), “sirey timir” (less steel-like) and “keteh timir” (poor quality), they thanked the spirit-fire and their first ancestor, and then, if possible, they feasted.

Yakut domniks used the tradition of old handicraftsmen to directly reduce iron, bypassing the cast-iron process. In this regard, the Yakut smelting tradition has common typological features with the South Siberian metallurgical culture. It remains a mystery why the Yakut craftsmen did not use a special flux reducer, as other metallurgists did. Only on the Lena, fluxes made of sand, clay and limestone were used by some handicraftsmen. Apparently, benign charcoal contained active reducing agents: limestone, calcium, carbon and hydrogen. There were also a number of distinctive features of local handicraftsmen.

It is interesting to note the final product. Although the Satin handicraftsmen were somewhat inferior to the Kentik smelters, nevertheless, for 8-10 melts per year they received 40-80 pounds of iron. Tamga ironworks in 1753 was able to produce 75 pounds of bloomery iron. By the end of the century, the Yakut smelting business finally fell into decay. Some industrialists produced only in the spring.(2)

Significant information about the metallurgical production of the Yakuts is contained in the works of members of the Second Kamchatka Expedition. The head of this expedition, V. Bering, wrote that the Yakut iron "will be against the best Siberian iron", that "the Yakut people make boilers for themselves from that iron, upholster chests and use it for all sorts of needs."

Head of the Commission for the General Description of the Way of Life of the Peoples of the Irkutsk Viceroyalty R.I. Langans, in the 10th chapter of his work on the Yakuts, wrote in 1789: “Their blacksmiths make axes, scythes, palm trees, knives, flint and scissors, coppersmiths pour a ring with carved patterns to decorate women, also to clean saddles.” (12)

Academician A.F. Middendorf. According to him, in the second half of the XIX century. the annual production of iron in one Yakutsk district reached up to 2000 pounds. His opinion was subsequently confirmed by V. Seroshevsky.

In a valuable ethnographic work by I.A. Khudyakov "A Brief Description of the Verkhoyansk District" describes in detail the shaman costume with all the attributes. It contains the names of iron pendants, metal plaques. Particularly interesting is the information regarding the weight of the costume, which consisted entirely of various iron plates, hanging pendants and bells. The weight of the costume reached up to 3 pounds.

Almost every Yakut family could not do without iron products. Some handicraftsmen achieved considerable perfection and made rifled guns with great accuracy. According to the calculation of Seroshevsky, the annual volume of production of Yakut iron in the 80s of the XIX century. reached up to 10 tons. Member of the geographical expedition of Captain I. Billings, G.A. Sarychev in 1786, within the boundaries of Yakutsk, excavated a “spherical-shaped” barrow, in which, in addition to various bone objects, he discovered 4 iron rings, an iron vessel of the 17th-18th centuries. In 1894, Naum Lytkin, a native of the Ust-Aldan region, found 147 oblong plates of armor of a Yakut warrior of the 17th century near Lake Borolooh.

Along with the development of blacksmithing, silversmiths and coppersmiths gained a good reputation. Their works were notable for their cleanliness and high level of artistic processing.

Pre-revolutionary researchers noted a rich set of silver jewelry of the Yakut bride: ilin kebi'er (breast decoration), kelin kebi'er (braid), kemus tuoakhta (round headdress badge), kemus kur (silver belt), kemus biileh (silver ring), kemus ytarZa (silver earrings), beZeh (bracelet). In addition, richly ornamented silver plates, round plaques were sewn on horse saddlecloths and saddle bows. The completeness and richness of the wedding set reflected her social position and noble origin.

Yakut craftsmen made teapots, basins, bits, stirrups, buckles, buttons, rings, needle cases from copper using the hot forging method. In 18th century burials copper objects are better preserved than iron ones. Of the 16 metal utensils of the 18th century recovered from the burials. eleven boilers are made of copper. And the very name "altan olgui" (copper cauldron) also speaks of the purely Yakut origin of these things. According to Seroshevsky, at the end of the 19th century, Yakut artisans produced 2,750 pounds of copper products worth 140,000 rubles in silver. Products of Yakut blacksmiths and silversmiths were exported not only to the regions of Central Russia, but also abroad. (12)

The Yakut region participated in exhibitions organized within the country: in the All-Russian Industrial and Art Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod (1896), the Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow (1872), the ethnographic exhibition in Moscow (1885). She also participated in the World: in Vienna (1873) and Paris (1889). At these exhibitions, the products of Yakut masters were presented well. In Nizhny Novgorod, for example, among the various exhibits were models of blacksmithing, women's breast and neck jewelry, men's and women's silver belts, earrings and rings. A rifle, a knife and five pieces of iron ore were sent to Vienna from Vilyui. The accompanying letter to the Yakut-made rifle explained that "the gun was made with a drill and a file." Another rifle of a local master is represented by a police officer from Vilyui. However, this rifle was not exhibited at the exhibition. The Yakut rifle was priced at 50 rubles by the exhibition committee.

E.D. Strelov, the first of the Soviet archaeologists of Yakutia, examined 20 graves and 14 burial mounds. Based on the results of his excavations, he published the articles “Bow, arrows and spear of the ancient Yakut”, “Clothes and jewelry of the Yakut in the first half of the 18th century”, “On the use of iron ore on the rivers Buotama and Lutenge”.

A whole system of areal mineralization spreads over a large area between the Buotama and Lutenge rivers. Since ancient times, local craftsmen-smelters have used them as raw ore. Based on archival data by E.D. Strelov traced the extraction of iron by the Yakuts from the 18th to the beginning of the 20th centuries.

Prominent Yakut historian, ethnographer and folklorist G. V. Ksenofontov in his work “Uraankhay Sakhalar” thought about the southern origin of the Yakut blacksmith craft. In his opinion, the ancient Yakuts were also familiar with the smelting of silver ore. As evidence, he refers to the cycle of legends about the Yakut blacksmiths "Saappa khoyuun" and "Delger Uus". Much folklore information about the Yakut iron craft is contained in another work by G.V. Ksenofontov "Elleyada", dedicated to the legendary history and mythology of the Yakuts. Here, the ancient Yakuts usually act in iron helmets, chain mail, armor, with swords, spears, palm trees. (7)

Iron household items are mentioned: axes, knives, pink salmon scythes, flint, blacksmithing items. Combat horse iron armor (kuyahi), stirrups are mentioned more than once. The names of the heroes who possessed blacksmithing skills are given. Elley Bootur acts as a skilled iron smelter. He made everything: palm trees, pink salmon, axes, knives, tongs, flint and so on. His eldest son was named Tolosoro-Kuznetsa, a close neighbor - Ekesteene-Kuznetsa. In the text of various fairy tales, the Blacksmith OmoZoi, Lebere the Blacksmith, blacksmiths Tarkayy, Mychakh appear. In the collected folklore sources, the presence of iron helmets, chain mail, shells, swords, spears, palem, attributes of horse equipment, iron stirrups, as well as knives and axes is consistently repeated among the Yakuts. (11)

An outstanding collector of historical legends of the Yakuts and their oral folk art, folklorist S.I. Bolo, in his famous work, published a large number of legends of the Yakuts of the period before the arrival of the Russians. They reflect the types and types of weapons, the kuyaks of warriors and horses, blacksmithing accessories. The ancestors of the Yakut tribes, as a rule, had their own blacksmiths. The last ones were Elley Bootur, Tuene MoZol and others. S.I. Bolo, based on the materials he collected, believes that the Yakut blacksmith's craft has ancient roots, that it appeared in the south in the upper reaches of the Lena, in the Baikal and Angara regions, that the ancestors of the Yakuts were making iron from ore in the Southern ancestral home, by the time they arrived in the Middle Lena had a complete set of iron weapons and household items. The Yakut blacksmith made the following types of military armor from iron: helmet (timir bergebe), chest (tues), wrist (bekechchek), shoulder (dabydal), dorsal (kehune), protective shields; weapons: a spear (unu), a palm tree (batyya), a large palm tree (batas), a sword (bolot) and others. S.I. Bolo lists the tools of the ancient Yakut blacksmith, the names of which completely coincide with the late varieties of the inventory of the Yakut handicraftsman.

A.P. turned to the iron culture of the Yakuts more than once. Okladnikov. He studied the monuments of the Kurumchi culture and showed the high iron processing technique of the Kurykans, the probable ancestors of the Yakuts. In this fact, he sees evidence of the antiquity of the smelting and blacksmithing of the Yakuts and their ancestors. In his reasoned opinion, "the glory of the Yakut blacksmiths goes deep into their heroic age - the time of epic heroes." The high appreciation of the traditional craft of the Yakuts is confirmed, in his opinion, by the latest finds of iron culture objects. At the “Kyrgyz site” along the Marzha River, a tall and narrow cauldron with a flat bottom and expanding towards the top was found, made of several small plates of sheet iron on iron rivets.

Such cauldrons, made in "nine places", are mentioned in the olonkho, which in itself speaks of the original Yakut culture. Okladnikov considers two iron helmets and plates of iron armor found in the Ust-Aldan region to be purely Yakut and puts them on a par with Chinese armor in terms of perfection of decoration and elegance of form. Okladnikov puts the metallurgical experiments of the Yakuts higher than those of the people of the early Iron Age of Yakutia, as well as the later northern tribes with their wandering blacksmiths.

The independence and traditional nature of the ore-smelting business was emphasized in his works by S.A. Tokarev. “The Yakuts had blacksmiths,” he argued, “they smelted iron from marsh and mountain ore and forged weapons and all kinds of products for sale and to order from it. Blacksmithing was especially developed in Vilyui. In the yasak documents of the peoples of Yakutia in the 17th century. Tokarev often noticed the Yakut names of blacksmiths. There were such phrases: “Niki Ogoronov is a blacksmith”, “Betyun volost Tyubyak blacksmith”, “Kyaniyana blacksmith”, “I went to the blacksmith Mechiy to forge a horse”. “About the Yakut Yeltyk Kurdyagasov, who complained about the Cossack Dmitry Spiridonov because he took away five palms from him, we said earlier.” Such petitions in documents of the 17th century. there were enough. From this, Tokarev concluded that even before the arrival of the Russians, blacksmithing was a traditional craft of the Yakuts, that the Yakut "blacksmiths were real artisans, commodity producers who worked for the market."

In the postwar period, an interesting article by M.Ya. Struminsky, who expanded the concept of Yakut metallurgy, described the work of local handicraftsmen. He noticed the presence of several centers of ore deposits. He noted the commodity nature of production. He compared the data of two varieties of iron-making metallurgy: the Tamga plant and the smelting furnaces of Yakut artisans. At the same time, he noted the higher productivity of the cheese-blowing method of production and the low cost of metal products. Yakut blacksmiths sold their products one and a half, two times cheaper than imported iron. Therefore, local production has become more widespread. “With the closing of the Tamga Ironworks, the handicraft production of iron and other metal products in Yakutia assumes a fairly large scale, reaching its peak in the second half of the 19th century.” (18)

The main observations of M.Ya. Struminsky in the 19th century. “in terms of retrospective consideration, they may well be applicable to the reality of the 17th century.” - writes V.N. Ivanov, who specially studied the socio-economic relations of the Yakuts in the 17th century. He mainly relied on documentary written sources of the XVII., which makes his messages more convincing and more valuable. (5)

In the 17th century iron becomes one of the main materials for home production of the Yakuts, the production of iron becomes a common phenomenon, blacksmith craft products become the property of every cattle breeder, hunter, and part of the products is sold to the foreign market. At the same time, the range of Yakut blacksmith production is quite wide. All this helped V.N. Ivanov to conclude: “In the XVII century. Thus, the Yakuts made the following types of tools and weapons from iron: a pink salmon scythe, a palm tree or Batu, kuyakh armor, a pick, a spear, arrowheads, boilers, a saw, in addition, Yakut blacksmiths lined various household items with iron material. objects and things. (6)

V.N. Ivanov did not touch upon the blacksmithing of Vilyui, which, as is well known, had reached a high level of development.

In the XVIII century. military weapons and equipment for them, made of iron, lose their original meaning. On the other hand, the functional significance of metal products used in the household and in everyday life increases significantly. “Iron scythe,” writes P.S. Sofroneev, who examined this period in the history of Yakutia and specifically focused on handicraft production, played the same role here as a plow with an iron plowshare in agriculture. Indeed, the development of cattle breeding in the Yakut economy was the main stimulus for the development of handicraft production, including blacksmithing. Sofroneev speaks highly of the blacksmiths of Vilyui, notes the further deepening of the process of specialization of blacksmiths.

In the historiographic work of V.F. Ivanov in Yakutia in the 17th and 18th centuries. in addition to other valuable historical and ethnographic information on the material and spiritual culture of the Yakuts, the reports of service people, travelers, researchers who visited Yakutia in different years and noticed the presence of their own metallurgy and blacksmithing among the Yakuts received further confirmation.

Analysis of the socio-economic development of the peoples of Yakutia in the late XIX and early XX centuries. the monograph of the historian Z.V. Gogolev. The author quite convincingly emphasizes the widespread occurrence of ore deposits, the market nature of the Yakut forging industry. In the period under review, despite the importation of agricultural implements (ploughs, mowers, hay-mowers, seeders, winnowers, iron harrows, etc.) to Yakutia, most of the livestock breeding and farming implements “were made in local workshops by Yakut blacksmiths” (3). )

N.K. was interested in Yakut metallurgical terminology. Antonov. Based on the epic creativity of the Yakuts, as well as highlighting from the rich Yakut vocabulary his own names of craftsmen, blacksmith products, hunting tools, everyday life, women's jewelry, Antonov makes a linguistic parallel with its ancient Turkic basis. In his opinion, "the emergence of metallurgical terms, and consequently, of the Yakut metallurgy itself, dates back to ancient times."

For the study of the iron culture of the Yakuts, the materials of their historical folklore are an additional and very useful guide. Their value was repeatedly pointed out by G.V. Ksenofontov, A.P. Okladnikov, Z.V. Gogolev, I.S. Gurvich, G.U. Ergis, P.P. Barashkov.

Among the named researchers of the historical folklore of the Yakuts, a number of interesting statements regarding the antiquity and traditionality of the blacksmith craft of the Yakuts were made by a connoisseur of oral folk art G.U. Ergis. According to him, the ancestors of the Yakuts, the Kurykans, were distinguished by the art of metal processing, that the weapons of their warriors have Turkic and Mongolian parallels, which indicates their southern origin. For example, unuu-shungu-spear; oh-ok-arrow; kylys-kylyt-sword; bybah-bychah-knife.

Having studied the monuments of the Kurykan culture of the Baikal region and the historical roots of the Yakuts, Ergis makes the following conclusion: “The ancestors of the Yakuts brought with them from the south a culture higher than that of the natives - cattle breeding, iron tools, the beginnings of the heroic epic and fine arts.”

His conclusions are based on the steadily repeating cycles of legends and historical stories of the Yakuts, containing a list of all the names of weapons, hunting, household items known to this day, made by ancient Yakut handicraftsmen.

Sometimes folklore sources are confirmed by archaeological data. So, in the legends about the ancestors of the Ospetians, it is told about Suor Bugduk, who lived in the time of Tygyn and was distinguished by extraordinary strength, had “an iron kuyak and often traveled in full armor.” Records of his kuyak were found by a local resident N.N. Lytkin at Cape "Barakhsyy", located on the alas "Bereleikh", about 70 years ago. The fact that the smelting and blacksmithing of the Yakuts was their ancient occupation, that there have been no fundamental changes in handicraft metallurgical production over a period of long development, is shown by the materials of the historical folklore of the smelters themselves, as well as local history materials collected over the past decades in the museums of the republic.

Yakut beliefs associated with blacksmithingproduction

The high professional level and all-round skill of blacksmiths created a special social position for them. The respect with which the blacksmith was treated bordered on reverence for him almost as a holy man. This was reflected in folk beliefs and the blacksmith's initiation ceremony. A skilled blacksmith knows how to process not only iron, but also copper, lead, silver, gold and wood, even fur, he is also familiar with sewing clothes and bone carving. The blacksmith, standing at the highest level of mastery, was also a jeweler who created artistic details for the rich attire of the national costume. The veneration of a skilled craftsman was associated with religion, while the Yakuts for a long time along with the Orthodox religion, elements of the pagan religion were preserved. The success of the work of a blacksmith master jeweler was associated with some kind of supernatural forces. (22)

Therefore, let us dwell on the beliefs of the Yakuts associated with blacksmithing, and on the rite of initiation into blacksmiths.

The Yakuts had a peculiar cult of blacksmiths, who were considered to have supernatural powers, even more than shamans. The blacksmith's craft was inherited and according to the ideas of that time, the more the blacksmith had blacksmith ancestors, the more powerful he was. The ancestors of the blacksmiths, according to legend, was the blacksmith Kudai Bakhsy.

There were various beliefs associated with blacksmithing and other metal crafts. If the blacksmith did not work for a long time, then before starting work he threw oil into the fire, coaxing the timir ichchite (iron spirit) so that the work would be successful. I did the same for each new owner, if the blacksmith works on the side. In addition, at the end of the work, he took a gift from the owners: butter, meat, etc., from which, when he came home, he gave a miniature part to the fire, that is, he threw it into the fire. If you didn’t receive a present and didn’t give it to the fire, then you could expect bad things.

In the old days, the Yakuts had a ceremony of initiation into blacksmiths. A person who wants to become a blacksmith acquires the necessary tools and begins to work. If he was destined to become a real blacksmith, then after a while he and outsiders heard the sound of a hammer and the hiss of bellows in his empty forge at night. This meant that the forge acquires its own spirit - the owner (ichiilener). The future blacksmith continues to work, but after 2-3 years he fell ill. He had non-healing sores (cuts) on his arms and legs, his back hurt. People who did not have blacksmith ancestors fell ill with this disease, there were also people who had blacksmith ancestors, but for some reason did not do blacksmithing themselves. The disease dragged on and did not go away, the night sounds of the forge intensified. Then the future blacksmith turned to the shaman, who determined that the person fell ill from his ancestors and said: Kudai Bakhsy heard the noise and clatter of your hammer and anvil and asks for the sacrifice of a three-year-old black bull (other color is not allowed). The initiated blacksmith finds the required bull and the shaman performs a ritual. He portrayed that he took the "kut" (soul) of the bull and descends with him into the underworld. Having reached the place where Kudai Bakhsy lives, he handed a “kut” bull with the words: “I brought you a“ Berik ”(sacrifice) for this person. Don't touch him, but make him a blacksmith."

After the ritual, a live bull was tied up, the stomach was cut open and the heart and liver were pulled out with blacksmith tongs, which were put into the furnace, after which they fanned the fire with blacksmith bellows, then the liver and heart were placed on the anvil. The initiate had to hit them with a sledgehammer. At this time, his assistants, with songs interrupted by groans, described the suffering of the initiate. Depending on how much he crushed the heart and liver, the strength of the blacksmith was determined. And it was believed that if he crushed with one blow, then a good blacksmith would come out of him, two blows - an average one, three blows - a bad one.

For the dedicated blacksmith, a nail was made - an iron plate with holes for punching holes in metal and for making nail heads (called chuolgan in Yakut). A.A. Kulakovsky noted the magical properties of the blacksmith's chuolgan, which marked his strength, his dignity. The best blacksmith should have a nail with nine holes, an average one with seven, and a bad one with five holes.

After the initiation, the blacksmith's illness passed, and he became a real blacksmith. After that, he was in some respects considered even superior to the shaman. The shaman could not harm the blacksmith, who had passed the initiation rite, and with the help of his chuolgan (nail), which has magical properties, he could destroy the shaman. Seeing the approach to the smithy, the blacksmith leaves his chuolgan at the threshold, the shaman steps over this chuolgan, his “kut” (soul) remains in the chuolgan. When the shaman leaves, the blacksmith heats the chuolgan together with the kut, causing the latter to die.

2. Yakut khomus music and its ancient manufacturing technology

The musical instrument jew's harp (Greek ogzhanop) spreads among many peoples of the earth on all continents. It has its own specific size, shape and, depending on this, a peculiar sound. It is made of metal, wood, bone, and in the musical system, according to the method of attaching the tongue of the instrument to its body, it is divided into two varieties: idioglottic and heteroglottic.

Ideoglottic jew's harps (wooden, bone, copper, made of solid material) have a distribution area mainly in Asia.

Heteroglottic (with attachment of the tongue to the base of the body) - in Eurasia, America, Africa.

The age of this musical instrument has not yet been finally clarified, but some archaeological data in Central Asia, Japan, Northern Europe indicate that the harp has more than one thousand-year history (P. Fox, V. Crane, V. Baks, L. Tadagawa).

According to the materials of musicologists of our century, this instrument was widely used in the 7th - 8th centuries. in Central Asia and Switzerland, in the XIV - XV centuries. in Switzerland and Romania. in Europe since the 16th century. Until now, the jew's harp occupies a higher place among the hierarchy of musical instruments.

Many historical facts about the performers of the 17th-19th centuries have been preserved. They played the jew's harp and were interested in such great personalities as A. Lincoln and Peter the Great. In European countries, the jew's harp had its own "golden age", which lasted until 1850. Since 1765, the Austrian and organist, L. Beethoven's teacher Johann Georg Albrechtsberger wrote several symphonic concertos for the jew's harp. Musicologists of that and later era recognized Karl Eulenstein (1803-1890) as the greatest harp player of all time.

There is a curious observation by hunters that the rattling of a chipped tree trunk attracts the attention of a bear, that is, sometimes a bear deliberately pulls one of the chips of a broken tree trunk and lowers it, after which it stands and listens to the rattle of wood for a long time. Moreover, as it fades, the bear pinches the same chip again and resumes its vibrations. This process, it seems to us, remotely resembles the principle of sound production on a wooden khomus. It is quite possible that the way of playing music on a wooden khomus was suggested to taiga hunters by observations of wildlife.

The living traditions of folk musical culture always contribute to the rapprochement and mutual understanding of people, due to the fact that the language of music is international and by its nature understandable to a person of any nationality. In particular, the enchanting sounds of the jew's harp (khomus), temir komuz, gotuz, parmupil, pymel, kumaz, etc., resounding from different continents of the earth, have like a magical power that unites and sets people up for creative creation.

This musical instrument has come down to our days from time immemorial thanks to our blacksmiths. Since time immemorial, our people have been famous for their skillful blacksmiths. This is evidenced by numerous legends, fairy tales and epics.(21)

According to scientists, already in the X - XII centuries. the tribes that are the ancestors of the Yakuts developed blacksmithing.

In the old days of the Yakuts, up to the 19th century. Various varieties of vargan were widely used: “Kuluun khomus” (reed khomus), “Mas khomus” (wooden khomus). But gradually “Timir khomus” (iron khomus) and “Ikki tyllaah khomus” (bilingual khomus) come to the fore. The first three of them were known only until the middle of the 19th century. And forgotten. The bilingual khomus will also not be widely used, apparently due to the undeveloped manufacturing technology and playing techniques.

From what we wrote, we came to the conclusion that blacksmiths have improved khomus over the centuries since ancient times. (21)

The traditional classic single-tongue iron khomus, widespread in the republic, consists of a horseshoe-shaped rim in the form of a pira with two tapering "cheeks". It is known that the craftsmen chose the material of the case and tongue according to the hardness, which is determined by how much the material lends itself to a file with fine emery, while each craftsman has developed his own sense of metal. The body is usually made by cold forging from a softer material than the tongue. Forging is called from the standpoint of metal science "cold" even when the workpiece is heated to 600°C; below this temperature, the so-called recrystallization processes do not occur, i.e. after processing, the metal continues to retain its obtained properties. From the standpoint of ensuring the sound of khomus, the choice is very important, the material of the tongue must be sufficiently elastic and have a sufficiently high hardness, at the same time not be brittle and have high resistance to small plastic deformations. Yakut blacksmiths in the manufacture of the khomus language follow mainly two ways:

The path that is the most difficult, requiring a pronounced sense of the metal: choose the metal that needs to be forged, hardened in a certain environment, tempered to the required mechanical characteristics;

A metal is selected that already has the appropriate mechanical characteristics, brought to the required size and shape of the tongue (for example, hacksaw blades, scythe metal for mowing grass, etc. are often used). At the same time, minimal heat treatment is required, but again, it requires a sufficiently developed sense of metal. In our opinion, the ancient blacksmiths, the masters, basically chose the first way, since at that time there were no electric grindstones. And a hand sharpener took a lot of time, so they forged and hardened the tongue.

Once the body and tongue are made, it is of great importance to fit them together and how the tongue is attached to the body. Violation of the fit forms, the ratio of gaps between the "lips" of the body and the tongue, the unsuccessful fastening of the tongue to the body can lose all the advantage that was achieved during the mechanical and heat treatments of the tongue and body.

The main requirement for the body of the khomus is its sufficient strength and massiveness of the ring in order to make a reliable fastening of the tongue to it, which should not weaken over time, while it is important to observe the shape and size, proportions of both the body and the tongue, and also very accurately you need to fit the tongue to the "lips" of the body, strictly maintaining a certain gap. The part of the vibrating plate bent at the end into a right angle is called hohuora "bird", on the tip of which there is an eminnekh "round ear". It is this tiny hole (eye) that serves to tune the instrument. A piece of lead is placed in it, and a milligram decrease in its weight by scraping contributes to a change (increase) in the frequency of the tongue vibration. This is how the desired sounding of khomus is achieved.(21)

In recent years, the Yakut khomus has undergone major changes, both in terms of external structural elements and in terms of musical qualities. Various circumstances contributed to this.

Firstly, the virtuoso performers in a relatively short period of time dramatically expanded the range of performing skills, opened up wide scope for creative imagination and compositional activity.

Thirdly, khomus art is being revived in an atmosphere of heightened interest in folklore music. As a result of these positive processes, various variants of solo elements were created: two-toned and tinted khomuses on hinges, completed in a single block, as well as special children's and concert khomuses. Each craftsman creates his own model of a constructive solution by the appearance and external features of the khomus; professional performers recognize the handwriting of a blacksmith's master. Individual artisans bring the technique and technology of making tools to jewelry perfection. Among the manufacturers of the Yakut khomus, craftsmen who create "talking" and "melodious" instruments enjoy special respect and honor. Khomuses by M.I. are very popular all over the republic. Gogolev (village of Maya, Megino-Kangalassky district), N.P. Burtseva (village of Sottintsy, Ust-Aldan region), I.F. Zakharova (Vilyuisk, Vilyuisky district), P.M. Borisov (village of Verkhnevilyuysk, Verkhnevilyui district). Each has its own type of modifications, its own method of hardening, only its inherent artistic and aesthetic taste.

I.E. Alekseev, having become a recognized master, began to pay serious attention to the Yakut blacksmiths. A trusting and creative relationship developed between Ivan Yegorovich and recognized old masters. Both Semyon Innokent'evich Gogolev - Amynnyky Uus, and physics teacher Nikolai Petrovich Burtsev, and master jeweler Ivan Fedorovich Zakharov -Kylyady Uus treated and still treat Ivan Alekseev with special respect. They completely trusted the secrets of their craft to a bright talent, besides a scientist, willingly showed the technological methods and secrets of making the Yakut khomus. Ivan Alekseev talks about each of them for hours.

For more than twenty years, Alekseev has been using the instrument of S.I. Gogolev. All records of his well-known performances were recorded with his khomus. With Amynnykky's khomus he visited many countries of near and far abroad. The old khomus makers always valued the opinion of Ivan Yegorovich and therefore I would like to give a professional assessment given by Ivan Yegorovich to three well-known masters of khomus production.

“For more than 50 years, the most talented craftsman Semyon Innokentevich Gogolev, the author of several thousand “singing” traditional khomuses, widely used as a musical instrument in our country and abroad, has been famous. The main advantage of Gogol's khomus is the simplicity of form, while observing the classical proportions of details, which contributes to its "melodiousness". With the name of S.I. Gogolev is associated with the revival of the khomus art in the republic and the harp music in our country, since most of the famous khomus players create their improvisations, compositions, and plays on the Gogol instrument.

The labor teacher of the Sotta school, Nikolai Petrovich Burtsev, was the initiator of the creation of improved, aesthetically

attractive, but at the same time sonorous khomuses. Over the years, his khomuses, based on the calculations of the law of elastic bodies, acoustics, began to be distinguished by a high tonality, and when tuned - a kind of timbre. Khomusy N.P. Burtsev were exhibited at various exhibitions, including in Montreal. The Burtsevo khomuses are mainly played by girls and women; they are very convenient for use in various ensembles.

The well-known jeweler Ivan Fyodorovich Zakharov, developing the ideas and creative experience of his predecessors, devotes all his knowledge and skills to making khomus. First of all, instead of metal forging, he introduced the technology of casting the tool body from brass, silver and iron. And, finally, I.F. Zakharov settled on the optimal case made of brass with iron impurities. Khomus with such a body and a steel tongue makes gentle sounds with soft overtones. And from the aesthetic side, Zakharovsky's khomuses have become very attractive. Ivan Fedorovich is the author of many souvenir khomuses specially made for exhibitions and museums. And his massive solo khomuses are in great demand. In addition to monolingual khomuses, I.F. Zakharov also revived the bilingual one, which is gradually entering the creative arsenal of Yakut khomus improvisers.”

Ivan Yegorovich Alekseev, on the basis of his personal collection of jew's harps of the peoples of the world, repeated meetings with blacksmiths from other countries, studies the technological and structural features of the Yakut khomus. In this complex and delicate matter, he attracts specialists of various profiles as scientific consultants. Particularly fruitful and promising are joint works with Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Chairman of the Scientific Center of Yakutia V.P. Larionov. Vladimir Petrovich explores the metallographic structures of the Yakut khomus, the variability of their design features.

The art of khomus masters is also given serious attention by other scholars, mostly young ones. Apparently, there will be other researchers, perhaps world-class. But in all these scientific and creative research, the role of the first researcher of the Yakut khomus, the scientist I.E. Alekseev.

musical Yakut khomus casting

3 . Justification of the project theme

To substantiate the design work, it is necessary to study not only the Yakut khomus, but also the jew's harps of the peoples of the world.

Khomus Yakut national musical instrument

In the old days, the Yakuts, up to the 19th century, widely used various varieties of the harp "kuluun khomus" (reed), "mae khomus" (wooden), "unuoh khomus" (bone). But gradually “timir khomus” (iron) comes to the fore, eventually displacing other varieties. Apparently, this can be explained by the role of the khomus in the life of the Yakuts, when at the first stages of its existence this instrument served as an accompanying mouth tambourine in ancient cult rites, and then gradually enters the daily life of the Yakuts already as an independent instrument. Pre-revolutionary Yakut khomus music was amusingly distinguished by its purely personal, intimate-chamber character of sound.

Firstly, a person turned to playing the khomus in the most difficult moments of grief - “sanaar Zabyllaah tardyylar”.

Secondly, playing the khomus was associated with the tradition of love confessions - “taptyyr kiyitiger khoyuyan tardyylar”. This tradition made it possible to express the innermost feelings of a person in a special form of allegorical pronunciation of the text, echoing the genre of love songs-improvisations-tuoisuu.

Thirdly, people could talk through the khomus.

Fourthly, khomus was considered the favorite instrument of girls and women. They played khomus songs on it, highlighting them in a special dance “Khomus yryata” (“Khomus songs”).

Fifthly, there was also a tradition of collective playing on khomus.

Sixthly, khomus has always adorned Ysyakh holidays along with traditional folk songs and round dances glorifying the arrival of the long-awaited summer after the severe frosts of a cruel winter, praising the nature of Yakutia.

The genre of khomus improvisations in the ancient manner of performing "syyya tardyy" can be defined as the genre of medley - "yrya matyyptaryn tardyy".

In 1918 P.N. Turnin successfully performed in Moscow in the days of the review of amateur art of the peoples of the RSFSR. And from that moment on, Yakut khomus music enters the XXX stage. With a change in the conditions of existence, this instrument becomes a purely concert instrument, directing the development of Yakut khomus music along the path of virtuoso solo and collective performance. At the same time, the problem of making “etigen khomus” (a sonorous, melodious khomus) immediately arises.

The founder of the improvisational-concert style of Yakut music is I.S. Alekseev, who not only developed a whole range of sound-representative techniques on the khomus, which are distinguished by technical perfection, the fantastic timbre colors achieved, but also brought up a whole galaxy of excellent improvisers. In the education of khomusists, the founded I.E. Alekseev in 1961. Ensemble "Algys"

In general, it can be said about the sound-improvised style of the perfect Yakut khomus players that this style enriched the Yakut khomus music with performing techniques, types of compositions close to toiuks, song genres of the “dieretii” osuokhayu style, expanded the overtone range of the Yakut khomus as a concert instrument - “etigen khomus”, and also raised issues of subsidies, i.e. opened the way to professionalism. (eleven)

The technology of jew's harp designs among the peoples of Siberia

Thanks to musical and ethnographic research, which has been going on for more than two and a half centuries, about six dozen national varieties of the harp have been identified among the peoples of Siberia. The whole variety of designs of this tool forms 4 organic types: plastic, arc, plate-arc and angular. The first 2 types are well known to ethno-organology and are quite fully described. They differ among themselves in the form and nature of the attachment of the tongue to the base, hence their division into idioglatic and heteroglatic.

A variety of the spiritual jew's harp is formed as a result of the typology of the arc, which forms a round loop in the region of the attachment of the tongue, either elongated or not having one.

Consider the national types of jew's harps, taking into account the above typology, while at first we will consider the peoples who have only one type of jew's harp, and then the peoples who combine in their culture the practice of intonation on various types of this instrument.

The plastic type of the jew's harp is the only variety practiced by the peoples of western Siberia and the extreme North-East. In other regions of Siberia, this instrument is either combined with the arc type of the jew's harp or opposed to it.

The peoples in whom the arc variety of the vargan was found do not have such a compact area of ​​​​settlement as those cultivating the lamellar one. On the one hand, these are the Taimyr Dolgan Turks, who call this instrument bargavun.

The arc harp as the only variety also exists in the culture of the southwestern Turks of Siberia XXX. For all these peoples, this instrument has a similar name - khamys-khomus-komus.

Among the peoples of the Amur region, three types of harp are known: two lamellar and one arc. Lamellar jew's harps can be either stepped or wedge-toned, both types being common and interacting in the region with equal importance.

Among the peoples of the Amur region, a lamellar harp is made (in addition to those materials that are indicated in connection with the characteristics of the Nivkh harp) from barberry (nanois), cedar and larch (udeche ulchi).

Among the peoples of central Siberia, the lamellar and arc harp is represented by type; lamellar with a stepped tongue, and arc with a round eyelet.

Among the Yakuts, both options are called the term "Khomus". At the same time, when identifying lamellar jew's harps, the Yakuts usually indicate the material from which this instrument is made. "Kuluun khomus" - "reed harp", "mae khomus" - "wooden harp". Both varieties of the lamellar-arc jew's harp - idiogloic and heterolotic, as well as the angular-shaped jew's harp are found only among the Turks of southern Siberia.

Vargans of the peoples of the CIS, Asia, Russia

Almost all nations have their own national musical instruments. Of these, the jew's harp stands in a special place. Firstly, it is a very ancient instrument: and, secondly, forgotten or half-forgotten, and therefore reborn. Almost all regions of the former USSR are marked with dots on the distribution map of the harp. More than 60 names of Vargan in various variants have been found throughout the republics. The most famous varieties of vargan are lamellar and arcuate.

A lamellar harp is a thin, narrow wooden or bamboo, bone, less often a metal plate. Its tongue is cut out in the middle of the plate.

Arc-shaped jew's harps are forged from an iron rod, in the center of which a thin steel tongue with a hook at the end is attached.

The name of the jew's harp contains elements of the most ancient animalistic concepts.

For example: varam-tun (Chuvash) - parmupil mosquito (Estonian) - bumblebee

The musical term “komuz”, which is widespread among the Turkic peoples (in various phonetic variants: kobuz, kobyz, komys, khomys, etc.), denotes, in addition to stringed musical instruments, a jew's harp.

According to Russian written sources, in Russia the jew's harp existed as two different instruments. In the annals and legends of the 11th-17th centuries. spoken in the Russian army since the time of Svyatoslav Igorevich.

Since the 18th century, the name harp has been understood as another instrument. For the first time, it is mentioned in the register compiled by Peter I in the book by I. Golikov "The Acts of Peter the Great", published in 1938 in Moscow. Among the peoples of the Volga region, not all the jew's harps have survived to this day. Among the Bashkirs, kubyz, kumyz is traditional. The Tatar harp called kubyz is made of metal.

The degree of distribution of the harp among the peoples of Central Asia is different, Temir-komuz is found throughout the territory of Kyrgyzstan.

Among the majority of the peoples of Siberia and the Far East, the jew's harp was extremely widespread, and for some it served as almost the only musical instrument. Two varieties of it were used: arched metal and wooden or bone (lamellar). It found different uses among different peoples: and as an attribute of shamanism, used in the performance of rituals.

For the Altai peoples, the cult purpose of the jew's harp is not typical. In the 19th century khomus was a common musical instrument of many Siberian peoples. It was also used for conditional conversation between lovers and at weddings. At times, during the performance of the melody, words were uttered in a barely audible voice, and sometimes entire dialogues.

Tuvans know five varieties of jew's harp - metal temir-khomus and wooden yyash-khomus. A lamellar instrument made of bamboo or reed is called kuluzun-khomus. Each region has its own melody of temir-khomus.

In Buryatia, the harp is now very rare. In the past, it was almost exclusively a cult instrument, especially among the Eastern Irkutsk Buryats, used by shamans, along with a tambourine, when divining and calling spirits. It was called khur or khuur.

Vargans of the peoples of Europe, America

Vargan is distributed not only in Central, Central, Southeast Asia, but also in Europe, America and exists under various national names. It is also made from wood, bone, bamboo, metal.

According to the American professor Frederick Crane, the jew's harp appeared five thousand years ago in South Asia. It spread throughout Asia and Europe, from there it came to Africa, and then to the New World, where it received its new development.

In the 20s of our century, the jew's harp organically entered the "country" style, as evidenced by the gramophone records that Frederic Crane demonstrated during the II International Congress. In combination with singing, playing the banjo and guitar, he creates a special sound flavor.

The first showcase is dedicated to the materials of the 1st All-Union Conference “Problems of Harp Music in the USSR”, held in April 1988 in Yakutsk with the assistance of the Union of Composers of the USSR and the Ministry of Culture of the Yakut Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. It discussed multifaceted issues related to archeology, ethnography, folklore traditions of playing the harp among various peoples of the USSR, as well as ways to introduce harp music to professional musical creativity, the possibility of serial production of harp in various regions, republics of the USSR.

Representatives of the USA, Japan, France and other countries in their reports and speeches covered the issues and problems of jew's harp music, the life of the natives of Oceania, Asia, America and Europe.

An interesting report on the jew's harp and jew's harps in Oceania, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan was made by Leo Tadagawa, a researcher and promoter of jew's harp from Japan.

About the music of the ancient and modern jew's harp (khomus)

The musical instrument vargan is common among different peoples of the Earth on all continents. It has its own specific size, shape and, depending on this, a peculiar sound. It is made of metal, wood, bone, and in the musical system, according to the method of attaching the tongue of the instrument to its body, it is divided into two varieties: idioglottic and heteroglottic. This difference also reflects the scope of the instrument. Idioglottic jew's harps (wooden, bone, copper, made of solid material) have a distribution area mainly in Asia, and heteroglot (with a tongue attached to the base of the body) - in Eurasia, America, Africa.

The age of this musical instrument has not yet been finally clarified, but some archaeological data in Central Asia, Japan, Northern Europe indicate that the harp has more than one thousand-year history (L. Fox, F. Crane, F. Bax, L. Tadagawa, etc.) . In their work, E. Hornbostel and K. Sachs recognize Asian wooden and metal harps as more ancient. Based on the materials of musicologists of our century, this instrument was widely used in the 7th-8th centuries. in Central Asia and Switzerland, in the 14th-15th centuries. in Switzerland and Romania. in Europe since the 16th century. Until now, the jew's harp occupies a higher place among the hierarchy of musical instruments, although the work of K. Sachs mentions that the Asian type of the heteroglot jew's harp precedes the European one, especially in India, Nepal, and Afghanistan. In the epics "Manas" and "Korkurt Ata" the jew's harp called temir komus, kobyz functions as an instrument of virtuoso playing, associated not only with ritual rites, but also with musical writing. (21)

Behind the secrets of the Yakut khomus

In recent years, the Yakut khomus has undergone major changes both in terms of external structural elements and in terms of musical qualities. This was facilitated by various circumstances.

Firstly, the virtuoso performers in a relatively short period of time dramatically expanded the range of performing skills, opened up a wide scope for creative fantasy and compositional activity.

Secondly, craftsmen began to reveal the technological secrets of old artisans.

Thirdly, khomus art is being revived in an atmosphere of heightened interest in folklore music.

As a result of these positive processes, various variants of solo instruments have been created: double-reeded and tinted khomuses on hinges, completed in a single block, as well as special children's and concert khomuses. Each craftsman creates his own model of a constructive solution. By the appearance and external features of the khomus, professional performers recognize the handwriting of a blacksmith's master. Individual artisans bring the technique and technology of making tools to jewelry perfection. Among the manufacturers of the Yakut khomus, craftsmen who create "talking" and "melodious" instruments enjoy special respect and honor.

About Japanese jew's harps of a thousand years ago

On October 21, 1989, in the city of Omiya, Saitama Prefecture, an iron object was discovered at the archaeological site called "remains of a recess from under dwelling No. 4" of the Shinto shrine of Hikawa, which was later recognized as a jew's harp. Initially, it was suggested that these were several iron spearheads connected together. The item was found in the northwestern corner in an inclined position with the ring part down and two handles up. According to the type and structure of the pottery found together, the age of the object was determined - the first half of the 10th Heian century, when the city of Kyoto was the capital of Japan.

The second similar iron object was found in one of the pits of the remains of the “multi-pillar structure No. 2”, located less than 10 meters north of the excavation site of the first iron object. Unfortunately, the details of the discovery are unknown, except for the fact that it was found in one of the four pits on the north side (16 pits in total). Presumably, the object was buried in a pit of a pillar, removed for some reason, in the first half of the 10th century, which can be explained by the following facts:

from under the floor of this structure, an engi-tsuho coin was found - one of the dynastic coins made in 907, and which was buried, “perhaps as a gift to the spirit of the earth”;

judging by the pits, the structure was destroyed twice around the first half of the 10th century.

Since 1884, the eastern relics of the Hikawa temple have been included in the territory of Omiya Park, but before that they belonged to the Hikawa temple, the largest in the Musashi area (the current Kanto, which includes 6 prefectures and the city of Tokyo). It is to the Shinto shrine of Hikawa that the name of the city of Omiya, which means "great temple", goes back. The distance from the temple to the center of archaeological excavations is small, about 250 meters to the east-northeast. Thus, the Hikawa Shinto shrine is one of the important components in the consideration of archaeological finds.

The excavations were carried out by the Omiya Relics Survey Committee from September 1989 to March 1993, followed by an expansion of the park's baseball field.

X-rays were taken of both found iron objects. It turned out that they had a rounded part and two handles, as well as a thin plate located between the handles.

We checked the likelihood that the finds were a pair of iron scissors or keys, but X-rays showed a completely different structure. The point of view that these are several iron spearheads or nails connected to each other was rejected for the following reason: "it is almost impossible to find two identical objects made by chance." It is very fortunate that both objects were found close to each other. In other words, we can say that the two objects were made similar in shape, size and structure intentionally, and not by accident.

Later, a former Chuo University professor, Inao Tentaro, who researched keys and locks, pointed out that the objects found were kuokin jew's harps and this musical instrument was mentioned in the chapter on games of the encyclopedia "Kojiruyen", completed in 1914. Shibato Minao, a former professor at the Broadcasting University, a composer and one of the first supporters of musical archeology, examined the relics and assessed them as jew's harps. However, due to the calling of Sibat, he does not have complete certainty, but only a cautious assumption that they are jew's harps. Even if they are jew's harps, there remains doubt about the reality of their millennial age.

From here we come to the conclusion that it is necessary to make khomus, in the traditional form, but using new technologies.

Design specification

What kind of product is khomus

The end consumer is those who like to play the khomus

What need will be satisfied - playing the khomus.

Functional purpose - receiving musical sounds

Permissible cost limits - 1500-5000 rubles

Mass production

Human factor - khomus should not harm health, convenient when playing

Materials - must meet the specified functions, have an affordable cost

Method of production - in the conditions of the Code of Criminal Procedure at GOU "PL No. 14"

Safety precautions in relation to the consumer must be safe when playing and transporting

In relation to the manufacturer, the conditions during manufacture must comply with safety requirements.

The appearance should be aesthetic, beautiful and have a good design.

Moral values ​​harm to the environment, should be less than the benefit to society.

Conclusion

Having worked on the design work in the manufacture of the Yakut khomus using casting technology, we came to the conclusion that the use of bronze for the body, stainless steel for the tongue improves the aesthetics, hygiene, practicality and durability of the instrument.

Foundry technology allows you to change the shape, size of the body blanks. The finished workpiece is technologically advanced for further finishing, engraving, soldering, inserting overlays.

Recently, not only musicologists, performers, propagandists of folk music, but also specialists in other branches of knowledge, including metallologists, chemists, have shown interest in a musical instrument - a jew's harp.

The technology of making khomus is constantly being improved, craftsmen skillfully turn khomus from a musical instrument into a beautiful product of arts and crafts, i. it should be not only aesthetic, but also unusual in sound.

We believe that the goals of the design work have been fulfilled, various manufacturing technologies for the Yakut khomus have been studied, and a khomus with a body made by casting on a vacuum casting plant has been made.

Bibliography

Antonov N.K. On Yakut metallurgical terms. - Polar Star, Yakutsk, 1977.

Bolo S.N. The past of the Yakuts before the Russians came to Lena. - M., 1938.

Gogolev Z.V. Yakutia at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. - Novosibirsk, 1970.

Gotovtsev I.N. Saham khomuhugar sanany - New technologies of the Yakut khomus. Yakutsk, Sakhapoligraphizdat, 2003.

Ivanov V.N. Socio-economic relations among the Yakuts of the 17th century. - Yakutsk, 1966.

Ivanov V.F. Historical and ethnographic study of Yakutia in the 17th-18th centuries - M., 1974.

History of the Yakut ASSR. - M., 1955.

Historical legends and stories of the Yakuts. - M., 1960.

Konstantinov I.V. Material culture of the Yakuts of the 18th century. - Yakutsk, 1971.

Ksenofontov G.V. Uranhai sugar. - Irkutsk, 1937.

Ksenofontov G.V. Elleiad. -M., 1977.

Middendorf A.F. Journey to the north and east of Siberia. - St. Petersburg, 1878.

Pekarsky E.K. Dictionary of the Yakut language. - M., 1917.

Safronov F.G. Works on the history of archeology, ethnography and historical bibliography. - SPb., 1976.

Collection of scientific articles of the Yakut Museum. - 1955.-Issue, Yakutsk.

Seroshevsky V.L. Yakuts. - St. Petersburg, 1896.

Sofroneev P.S. Yakuts in the first half of the 18th century. - Yakutsk, 1972.

Struminsky M.Ya. A handicraft method of extracting ore and smelting iron from it by the Yakuts. Collection of materials on the ethnography of the Yakuts. - Yakutsk, 1948.

Tokarev S.A. The social structure of the Yakuts in the 17th-18th centuries.

Tokarev S.A. Essay on the history of the Yakut people. - M., 1940.

22. Utkin K.D. Iron-making production of the Yakuts. - CIF "Citym", Yakutsk, 1994.

23. Utkin K.D. Ferrous metallurgy of the Yakuts in the second half of the 19th - early 20th centuries. - Yakut book publishing house, 1992.

Old Russian folk musical instruments

The history of the emergence of Russian folk instruments goes back to the distant past. The frescoes of St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, iconographic materials, miniatures of handwritten books, popular prints testify to the diversity of the musical instruments of our ancestors. The ancient musical instruments discovered by archaeologists are true material evidence of their existence in Russia. In the recent past, the daily life of the Russian people was unthinkable without musical instruments. Almost all of our ancestors owned the secrets of making simple sound instruments and passed them down from generation to generation. Familiarity with the secrets of craftsmanship was instilled from childhood, in games, in work that was feasible for children's hands. Watching the work of the elders, teenagers received the first skills in creating the simplest musical instruments. Time passed. The spiritual ties of generations were gradually broken, their continuity was interrupted. With the disappearance of the folk musical instruments that once existed everywhere in Russia, mass familiarization with the national musical culture was also lost.

Nowadays, unfortunately, there are not so many craftsmen left who have preserved the traditions of creating the simplest musical instruments. In addition, they create their masterpieces only for individual orders. The manufacture of tools on an industrial basis is associated with considerable financial costs, hence their high cost. Not everyone can afford to buy a musical instrument today. That is why I decided to collect materials in one book that will help everyone to make this or that instrument with their own hands. Around us are a large number of familiar materials of plant and animal origin, which we sometimes do not pay attention to. Any material will sound if skillful hands touch it:

• from a nondescript piece of clay, you can make a whistle or an ocarina;
• birch bark, taken from a birch trunk, will turn into a large horn with a beep;
• a plastic or methodical tube will acquire sound if a whistle device and holes are made in it;
• many different percussion instruments can be made from wooden blocks and plates. Based on publications about Russian folk instruments and my own experience in their manufacture, I made recommendations that may be useful in the process of working on them. To make the material more understandable and well-assimilated, I present illustrations and drawings of musical instruments I have made. In the book you will find advice:
• about the technology of manufacturing a musical instrument, taking into account the possibilities of a home workshop;
• about the materials used and the basic methods of work;
• about the manufacture of extremely simple, and with the acquisition of skills and more complex musical instruments;
• about the sizes of instruments in exact accordance with one or another musical system;
• about methods of extracting sound, playing techniques, tuning, fingering.

For many peoples, the origin of musical instruments is associated with the gods and lords of thunderstorms, blizzards and winds. The ancient Greeks attributed the invention of the lyre to Hermes: he made an instrument by stretching the strings on a tortoise shell. His son, a forest demon and the patron of shepherds, Pan was certainly depicted with a flute consisting of several stems of reeds (Pan's flute).

In German fairy tales, the sounds of a horn are often mentioned, in Finnish - a five-stringed kantele harp. In Russian fairy tales the sounds of the horn and pipe are warriors against whom no force can stand; miraculous gusli-samoguds themselves play, sing songs themselves, make them dance without rest. In Ukrainian and Belarusian fairy tales, even animals danced to the sounds of bagpipes (duda).

The historian, folklorist A. N. Afanasiev, author of the work "Poetic views of the Slavs on nature", wrote that various musical tones, born when the wind blows in the air, identify "expressions for wind and music": derived from the verb "to blow" duda, pipe, blow, Persian, dudu - the sound of a flute, German. blasen - to blow, winnow, trumpet, play a wind instrument; beep and harp- from buzz; buzz - a word used by Little Russians to denote a blowing wind; compare: nozzle, sipovka from sopathy, sniffle (hiss), hoarse, whistle- from whistle.

Wind music sounds are created by blowing air into the instrument. The breath of the wind was perceived by our ancestors as coming from the open mouths of the gods. The fantasy of the ancient Slavs brought together the howling of the storm and the whistling of the winds with singing and music. So there were legends about singing, dancing, playing musical instruments. Mythical representations, combined with music, made them a sacred and necessary accessory of pagan rites and holidays.

No matter how imperfect the first musical instruments were, they nevertheless required the ability of musicians to make and play them.

For centuries, the improvement of folk instruments and the selection of the best samples did not stop. Musical instruments took on new forms. There were constructive solutions for their manufacture, methods for extracting sounds, playing techniques. The Slavic peoples were the creators and keepers of musical values.

The ancient Slavs honored their ancestors and worshiped the gods. Worship of the gods was performed in front of the sacred goddesses in temples and in the open air with bells and idols. Religious ceremonies in honor of Perun (god of thunder and lightning), Stribog (god of the winds), Svyatovid (god of the sun), Lada (goddess of love), etc. were accompanied by singing, dancing, playing musical instruments and ended with a common feast. The Slavs worshiped not only invisible pagan deities, but also their habitats: forests, mountains, rivers and lakes.

According to researchers, song and instrumental art of those years developed in close relationship. It is possible that ritual chanting contributed to the birth of instruments with the establishment of their musical structure, since temple songs-prayers were performed with musical accompaniment.

The Byzantine historian Theophylact Simokatta, the Arab traveler Al-Masudi, the Arab geographer Omar ibn Dast confirm the existence of musical instruments among the ancient Slavs. The latter in his "Book of Precious Treasures" writes: "They have all sorts of lutes, psaltery and flutes..."

In Essays on the History of Music in Russia from Ancient Times to the End of the 18th Century, the Russian musicologist N. F. Findeisen notes: splendor, they would not be able to make their own musical instruments, completely regardless of whether there were similar instruments in neighboring regions.

The era of ancient Russian musical art is considered to be a historically long period of time: from the beginning of the 9th to the end of the 17th century. It consists of several stages, coinciding with the general historical classification:

• Kievan Rus;
• Novgorod and other cities during the Mongol-Tatar invasion;
• Moscow and the centralization of the feudal principalities around it.

Russian musical culture of each stage has its own characteristics.

In the 6th century, the East Slavic tribes living along the banks of the Dnieper united - the glade. As the chronicler Nestor noted in The Tale of Bygone Years, "the glades are now called Rus."

In the 7th-9th centuries, an early feudal state arose among the Eastern Slavs. Contemporaries called it Rus or Kievan Rus. The city of Kyiv, founded at the end of the 5th century, was the capital of this state for several centuries and, according to the apt expression of the chronicler Nestor, was considered "the mother of Russian cities."

In the Russian early feudal state, dozens of large and hundreds of small cities existed and flourished. By the end of the 9th century, there were more than three hundred of them. The largest of them are Kyiv, Novgorod, Pskov, Smolensk. Surviving historical documents testify to high level culture and well-deserved respect for the Russian state in the then civilized world.

According to researchers, the following musical instruments were known in Kievan Rus:

• wooden pipes and horns (brass for military and hunting);
• bells, clay whistles (ceremonial);
• Pan's flute, consisting of several reed tubes of different lengths fastened together (wind ritual);
• gusli (stringed);
• nozzles and flutes (wind instruments yards long);
• beat (percussion signal and ritual).

In the first half of the 10th century, a Christian church was already operating in Kyiv. By the end of the millennium, Christianity was spread throughout Russia. The church conducted the rites of mass baptism of the population, the service was performed in the Slavic language. By that time, the Slavic alphabet - Cyrillic - already existed. Wooden images of pagan gods, along with ancient books, were burned at the stake. Gradually East Slavs accustomed to the Christian religion, but the old pagan beliefs did not completely disappear.

Nine hundred years ago, unknown painters left in the tower of St. Sophia Cathedral (founded in 1037) frescoes depicting scenes of musical and theatrical content. These are buffoon games, musicians playing the harp, trumpet and flute, dancers leading a round dance. Among the characters, musicians playing the longitudinal flute are clearly visible. There are similar images in the Dmitrievsky Cathedral in Vladimir (XII century), on the Novgorod icon "Signs". The chronicle of 1205-1206 confirms the presence of these musical instruments among the Slavs.

Kyiv, the capital of the early feudal Russian state, was one of the most beautiful and largest cities in Europe. Already from a distance, the huge city amazed travelers with the majestic view of the white stone walls, the towers of Orthodox cathedrals and temples. Craftsmen worked in Kyiv, whose products were famous throughout Russia and abroad. Medieval Kyiv was the most important center of Russian culture.

There were several schools for teaching children to read and write, a large library at St. Sophia Cathedral, in which tens of thousands of Russian, Greek and Latin books were collected. Philosophers, poets, artists and musicians lived and worked in Kyiv, whose work had a great influence on the development of Russian culture. The chronicler Nestor, a monk of the Kiev-Pechersk Monastery, mentioned in The Tale of Bygone Years (1074) almost the entire arsenal of musical instruments of those years: "... and hit the snot, harp and tambourines, starting to play them." This list can be supplemented with whistles, wooden pipes, twin pipes, snots (wooden pipes). Later, the image of the Slavic flute was discovered by archaeologists during excavations in Novgorod. It was this instrument, together with the harp, paired pipes, Pan's flute and pipes, that was most used by buffoons.

Gusli were a small wooden case in the shape of a wing (hence the name "wing-shaped") with stretched strings. The strings (from 4 to 8) could be stranded or metal. The instrument was on the lap while playing. With the fingers of his right hand, the musician struck the strings, and with his left hand, he muted unnecessary strings. The musical structure is unknown.

nozzles- These are whistling longitudinal flutes made of wood. The upper end of the barrel has a cut and a whistle device. Ancient nozzles had 3-4 holes on one side. The tool was used in military campaigns and at festivities.

Paired pipes- whistle flutes, together making up a single scale.

Pan flute- a kind of multi-barreled flute. It consists of several reed tubes of different lengths. Sounds of different heights were extracted from it.

Pipe- woodwind instrument The sound was extracted by blowing air into the playing tube.

The first information about buffoons dates back to the 11th century. In the "Instruction on the executions of God" ("The Tale of Bygone Years", 1068), their amusements and participation in pagan rites are condemned. Skomorokhs represented Russian folk culture at an early stage of its formation and contributed to the development of the epic, poetry, and drama.

During this period, music occupies an important place in the national culture of Kievan Rus. Official music accompanied church services, solemn ceremonies, military campaigns, holidays. Folk music-making, as well as the whole culture of Kyiv, developed and interacted with the life of other countries and peoples that influenced its development in the following centuries.

Kievan Rus was the cradle of the Russian people, from which later the Great Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian nations were formed. Subsequently, Kievan Rus broke up into separate principalities. The weakened state could no longer withstand the invasions of the Mongol-Tatars. In the 1240s, Kyiv was devastated, Russian lands were captured and plundered. Economic and cultural development was suspended for almost four centuries. The cultural values ​​created by the people during more than six hundred years of the existence of the state perished.

Novgorod was not only the largest city of the European Middle Ages, but also the only state that opposed the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. The swampy terrain and powerful fortifications of the city, the dedication and courage of its inhabitants were an obstacle to the hordes of the Horde. Founded in the 9th century on the banks of the Volkhov River, Novgorod was the capital center of the feudal republic.

The name itself, "Lord Veliky Novgorod", emphasized the sovereignty and independence of the republic, which bore the name of its capital. The main population were artisans. According to the data of that time, there were about 400 craft professions in Novgorod. Wooden and stone houses with several floors were erected in the city, in which noble feudal lords - boyars lived. Ordinary people, being free individuals, had small plots of land and gave part of the harvest for the right to use the land. In the X century Novgorod had trade relations with the cities of Europe and Asia.

In 1136, the Novgorodians declared Novgorod a republic, and it became an independent state. All life in the city was determined by the general meeting, the so-called "veche". Novgorod had a high original culture. The products of his masters were famous throughout Russia. Novgorod chroniclers kept a regular record of the events of everyday life of the townspeople. Novgorodians of the X-XV centuries were literate people. Archaeologists have discovered hundreds of letters, letters, documents written with sticks on pieces of birch bark.

During these centuries, wonderful monuments of Russian architecture were created: the Novgorod Kremlin, St. Sophia Cathedral. The Spas-Nereditsa Church was painted with unique frescoes. Works of oral folk art have survived to this day: epics about the merchant Sadko, the knight Vasily Buslaev, the legend about Vadim the Brave.

The social structure and way of life of Novgorodians contributed to the development of folk musical creativity, especially buffoons - storytellers, singers, musicians.

Wooden pavements that have covered the city for centuries have formed multi-tiered structures. During archaeological excavations carried out in Novgorod since 1951, details of a sniffle, a paired flute, a gusli, a beep (sock) were found in the layer of the 11th century. The body of the five-stringed harp has been preserved, as well as the upper soundboard with the string holder, and the fillies of bowed three-stringed whistles have also been found. The found harp, according to the definition of historians and musicologists, are the most ancient, and their design testifies to the high professionalism of the masters of the past and the developed musical culture of Novgorod itself.

Great and painstaking work on the revival and reconstruction of the instruments of ancient Novgorod is carried out by the expert on musical antiquities V. I. Povetkin. From the details discovered by archaeologists, he bit by bit restored more than a dozen musical instruments.

Horn(smyk) - a stringed instrument. Buffoons used it in combination with the harp. It consists of a dugout wooden body of oval or pear shape, a flat soundboard with resonator holes, a short fretboard without frets, with a straight or bent head. Tool length 300 - 800 mm. It had three strings that were at the same level with respect to the front side (deck). The onion-shaped bow, when played, was in contact with three strings at the same time. The melody was performed on the first string, and the second and third, the so-called bourdon, sounded without changing the sound. It had a quarto-fifth tuning. The continuous sound of the lower strings was one of the characteristic features of folk music. During the game, the instrument was on the knee of the performer in a vertical position. It was distributed later, in the XVII-XIX centuries.

Since ancient times, there was a belief in Russia: the ringing of bells can drive away evil spirits from a person.

The first mention in the annals of bell ringing dates back to the 11th century. The oldest ancestor of the bell - beat - was a wooden or iron bar. In ancient times, different peoples made bells, bells and small bells. With the help of some, sorcerers and shamans performed magical functions, others were used as a signaling tool.

All Old Russian churches notified the faithful about the beginning and end of the service. The first bell struck on the belfry of the church of St. Irene (1073). Novgorod bells gathered people at the veche, warned of danger, solemn events, church services, served as a guide in time. Musicians who mastered the art of bell ringing were called bell ringers.

From the bell ringing of those years are known:

• blagovest - called to a church service;
• alarm- collected veche;
• all-round, or fireman, - announced fires (the middle bell sounded, bright in sound
• security - warned of a possible enemy attack (with a special timbre);
• track - showed the way to travelers.

The principle of extracting sound from the bell is interesting. In European countries, the bell itself swung and beat on a motionless "tongue". The Russian ringing masters controlled the "tongues" of the hanging bells. In the art of playing the bells, this was a real discovery. Ringers could ring three or four bells at the same time and developed their own three-voice style - "chime" with division into bass, medium and high voices. The art of bell ringing developed and improved along with "national songwriting and church singing.

Even in ancient Greece, there was a reed wind instrument, which consisted of two tubes made of reed or wood, later made of metal, with holes for fingers and up to half a meter long. It accompanied choral singing, wedding, cult, military and other rituals and was called avlos. Museums of ancient culture have preserved antique vases with drawings depicting the game on the aulos.

On the example of Avlos, one can trace the interaction of musical cultures of different peoples.

Several millennia ago, the peoples of the East had an instrument zurna, made from a primitive reed pipe with a "tweeter" (cane). According to written sources, in the 13th century zurna migrated to Russia, where it was called surna or colza. Belarusians and Ukrainians called her antimony.

The surviving example of this ancient Russian musical instrument is a wooden tube 270 mm long with five playing holes and two bells - a small (upper) one, which acts as a mouthpiece, and a large (lower) one, in the shape of a bell. A squeaker with a single notched tongue is inserted into the upper bell. The diameter of the upper socket is 35 mm, the lower one is 65 mm. The instrument had a diatonic scale and a range within a sixth. The sound is strong and piercing. Surna is mentioned in "Domostroy", a well-known literary monument of medieval Russia of the 16th century. According to "Domostroy", together with a tambourine and a trumpet, the surna was an accessory of wedding ceremonies and military affairs.

In the Sovereign Amusement Chamber (XVII century), the surna was part of the musical instrumentation and, according to historians, was used by buffoons and musicians. Over time, the surna was among the folk musical instruments banned by the royal decree, and was destroyed. As a wind musical instrument, the surna existed almost until the 18th century, but then it lost its purpose. It was replaced by wind instruments closer to traditional folk music.

Tool device:

the surna has a barrel with a bell and eight playing holes; a wooden sleeve with a fork is inserted into the upper end of the barrel; when turning the sleeve, the ends of the teeth partially cover the three upper playing holes, which achieves additional tuning of the tool;

a brass pin is inserted into the sleeve, on which a round rosette of horn, bone, mother-of-pearl, metal is put on to support the performer's lips, and a small cane made of a flattened reed tube.

Usually the surna is supplied with spare reeds, which, like the socket, are tied to the instrument with a chain or thread.

At one end is a resonator bell, and at the other is a double reed, that is, reed plates fastened together on a small mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is a small, cone-shaped metal tube that the reed is attached to.

To protect the cane after playing, a wooden case is put on it. The sound is bright, harsh, piercing. Currently, there is an instrument that in its design resembles a surna - this is a reed wind instrument keychain.

In 1480, Russia was completely liberated from the Mongol-Tatar conquerors. The process of unification of Russian lands around Moscow began. Many historical monuments have been preserved, confirming the high level of material and spiritual culture of the Russian people of the XIV-XV centuries. In these centuries, writing, iconography, miniature painting, engravings on copper and wood developed. Wooden and stone palaces, fortresses, temples were erected. The Kremlin was built of white stone (1367). Since then, Moscow began to be called white-stone. The Assumption Cathedral, the five-domed Archangel Cathedral and the nine-domed Cathedral of the Annunciation grew up in the Kremlin.

At the turn of these centuries, the genius of the Middle Ages, the icon painter Andrei Rublev, lived and worked. Chronicles were written at the court of the tsar, in monasteries, and in the houses of the boyar nobility. Oral folk art developed - epics about the heroic struggle of the Russian people. A new genre of musical and poetic creativity was born - a historical song. Lyrical songs reflected the life and customs of people, sang their spiritual nobility. Folk art has received recognition and have. Moscow nobility.

It was the 16th century that became the heyday of national culture Russian state. Many talented architects, craftsmen, artists and musicians came out of the environment of peasants and artisans.

In 1564-1565, the first printer Ivan Fedorov published "The Apostle" and "The Clockworker", and in 1570 the first Russian printed "Primer" was published. The first explanatory dictionaries "ABCs" appear, in which the names of musical instruments are found. The Sovereign Amusement Chamber is being created. The most talented representatives of buffoon art and musical masters of the "buffoonery" were invited to it, who created and reconstructed musical instruments:

• beeps(stringed instrument; whistle, whistle, buzzer);
• domra(string instrument; domrishko, domra, bass domra);
• harp(string instrument; rectangular, table-shaped);
• surna
• bagpipes(reed wind instrument);
• cover, drum(percussion instruments).

One of the most common instruments in the 17th century and loved by the people was domra. It was made both in Moscow and in other cities of Russia. Among the trading rows there was also a "domerny" row. Domras were of different sizes: from a small "domrishka" to a large "bassist", with a semicircular body, a long neck and two strings tuned to a fifth or fourth.

Since the 16th century, Russians, Belarusians and Ukrainians have had lira(white Russian name- lera, Ukrainian - ryla, relay). This instrument was known to European countries much earlier, from the 10th century.

Researchers attribute the creation to the 17th century table gusli, having the shape of a small box with strings inside its body.

Buffoons were not only musicians, but also folk poets and storytellers. They amused people with jokes, played stage performances. The performances of buffoons bore the stamp of ancient Slavic mythology. The most common form of theatrical performances with elements of humor and satire was bear fun and genre scenes with the participation of Petrushka. The performances were accompanied by the sounds of wind and percussion instruments.

Lyra It is a stringed instrument with a wooden body, shaped like a guitar or violin. Inside the case, a wheel rubbed with resin or rosin is fixed through the deck. When the crank is turned, the outwardly protruding wheel contacts the strings and makes them sound. The number of strings is different. Middle - melodic, right and left strings - bourdon, accompanying. They are tuned in fifths or fourths. The string is passed through a box with a mechanism that adjusts the pitch, and clamped by the keys inside. The strings rest on a wheel that is turned by a crank. The surface of the wheel is rubbed with rosin. The wheel touches the strings, slides over them and produces long continuous sounds. Nalira was played mainly by wandering beggars - blind "lyre players" who accompanied the singing of spiritual verses with accompaniment.

The buffoons were required to have an impeccable mastery of the skill of the entertainers, that is, the organizers of folk holidays, the entertainers who acted as musicians or actors. The drawings reproduced in many old publications depicted groups of buffoons-players, for example, gooselytsiks or godoshniks.

Buffoons were divided into "sedentary", that is, assigned to one settlement, and wandering - "marching", "walking". The settled were engaged in agriculture or crafts, and played only on holidays for their own pleasure. Traveling buffoons, professional actors and musicians, were engaged only in their craft: moving in large groups, moving from village to village, from city to city, they were indispensable participants in holidays, festivities, weddings and rituals.

The Russian historian N. I. Kostomarov in his work "On the Life, Life and Customs of the Russian People" writes that buffoons aroused the keenest interest among the audience, who themselves took part in dancing and merrymaking. In winter, buffoons amused the people at Christmas time and Shrovetide, in summer - at Trinity, where the holiday itself was accompanied by semi-pagan rites. When the people gathered in the cemeteries, "at first they cried, wailed, lamented for their relatives, then buffoons and buffoons and whimsical women appeared: crying and lamenting changed into fun; they sang and danced." In the same place, Kostomarov writes: “On the Kupala holiday, in many places, people unconsciously celebrated the pagan night, spending it in fun ... When the evening of June 23 came, the whole city rose; men, women, young and old dressed up and gathered for a game. inevitable buffoons and buffoons with tambourines, snots, duds and stringed horns, began, according to a contemporary, galloping, wobbling ridges. Women and girls danced, clapped their hands and sang songs belonging to this holiday. "

Back in 1551, in the Code of Decisions of the Ecumenical Council "Stoglav" it was said: "Yes, buffoons walk in distant countries, copulating in gangs of many of sixty, and seventy, and up to a hundred people ... In worldly weddings, fool-makers, and organists, and laughers play, and guselniks and demonic songs sing."

It is not surprising that the opposition of the official church to buffoon traditions, which preserved elements of paganism, runs through the entire medieval Russian culture. In addition, the repertoire of buffoons often had an anti-church, anti-lord orientation. As early as the end of the 15th century, the church made decisions aimed at eradicating buffoonery. Finally, in 1648, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich adopted a decree ordering the authorities to destroy buffoonery, including their musical instruments: those demonic games, order them to be burned." Buffoons and craftsmen were to be deported to Siberia and the North, and the tools were destroyed. Russian musical art suffered irreparable damage. Some examples of folk instruments have been irretrievably lost.

Pursuing a policy of prohibiting buffoonery, those in power at the same time kept small ensembles of musicians at their courts.

Buffoonery was eradicated in the 18th century, but the traditions of buffoon games, satire, and humor were revived in those regions of Russia where buffoons were referred. As the researchers wrote, "the cheerful legacy of the buffoons lived in the suburb for a long time even after they were expelled from Moscow and other cities."

Drawing from Istomin's Primer. 1694

The destruction of the "gut vessels", beating with batogs, references for the manufacture of musical instruments and playing them led to a reduction in the production of instruments. In the Moscow trading rows, the "domer" row was closed.

At the end of the 17th century, the domra, the most common instrument among buffoons, went out of use. But another stringed instrument appears - balalaika. At different times it was called differently: both "bala-boyka" and "balabayka", but the first name has survived to this day.

The image of the balalaika is on popular prints and paintings by artists of the 18th century, in historical evidence of the 18th century. Researchers of Russian art noted: "It is difficult to find a house in Russia in which a guy who knows how to play the balalaika in front of girls would not be found. They usually even make their own instrument."

Over the centuries, the design of the balalaika has changed. The first balalaikas (XVIII century) had an oval or round body and two strings. Later (XIX century) the body became triangular, and one more string was added. The simplicity of form and manufacture - four triangular planks and a fingerboard with frets - attracted folk craftsmen. The structure of three-string balalaikas, the so-called "folk" or "guitar", was the most used by musicians. The instrument was tuned by thirds into a major triad. Another way to tune the balalaika: the two lower strings were tuned in unison, and the upper string in a quart with respect to them.

Most often, the balalaika accompanied Russian dance songs. It sounded not only in the village, but also in the city. With the advent of the balalaika, the beep, bagpipe, domra are out of use, but the flute, horn and harp still sound among the shepherds.

The shepherds were unsurpassed folk musicians. They had a great influence on the development of song and instrumental folk art. In Russian villages, there was even a custom - to hire as shepherds the one who plays the best horn, flute or pity. The music of the shepherds, as it were, had a kind of code - a set of signals for communicating with fellow craftsmen who are on other pastures, with people living in other villages.

But most often the shepherd played for himself, and the music became a link between him and nature. The performers themselves gave names and explanations to their simple musical tunes. In the morning, the tool helped the shepherd to drive out the cattle, in the afternoon, during grazing, to gather the herd. Animals calmly grazed to the gentle sounds of the instrument. Well, during the hours of rest and general fun, the shepherds performed round dance and dance melodies. Wind instruments (zhaleyki, horns, pipes, pipes, kugikly) were indispensable for festive celebrations and complemented other musical instruments (violin, harmonica, balalaika, braid, tambourine) with their sound.

In the summer, the fun took place in the open air: in the meadow, outside the outskirts, on the square in front of the church, or just on the village street. Everyone danced round dances: singers, dancers, and spectators. For the inhabitants of villages and villages, round dances were a means of communicating with each other, and the concept of "round dance" (karagod, circle, tank) had another important meaning - it was "street" (walking on the street, walking in a round dance).

To participate in the round dance, one had to know a lot of folklore texts and melodies, and, if possible, also play the musical instruments that existed in this area.

Round dances were performed both on weekdays and on holidays - at the end of summer, after harvesting. Mixed, everyday and festive round dances existed in the Oryol, Kaluga, Ryazan provinces. For example, in the Kursk province "tanks were driven." In the Bryansk region, songs and dances were accompanied by playing the violin, which was part of musical ensembles. Often round dances were led to the sounds of an accordion, balalaika. They danced to the rhythm of clapping their hands, whistling, or "under orders" (chastushkas). Stomping, the singers indicated the rhythm of the melody. Perhaps this is the most ancient way of singing with accompaniment.

Patronal feasts were communal in nature and were dedicated to the memory of the saint or the event in whose name the church was built. On holidays, guests, relatives, and close acquaintances came from the surrounding villages.

In The World of the Russian Village, A. A. Gromyko writes that "the communication of peasants from different villages at the beginning of the 20th century was in the nature of fun, passing from yard to yard with singing and dancing. Tales, bylichki were told at the meetings" and "each house to everyone who comes, and the table is set all day. Every visitor is treated, even a stranger. Singing and dancing were an indispensable part of any holiday.

In cities, for a long time, holidays completely copied peasant traditions: mummers at Christmas time, curling wreaths, round dances for the Trinity, etc. With the development of industry, the ritual and originality of peasant culture gradually disappear from the city.

For holidays in the cities, pleasure towns with swings and slides were erected. Hence the names of the festivities: "under the mountains", "under the swings".

Fairs and festivities carried an element of traditional folk spectacles: these were performances by actors with Petrushka puppets, circus acrobats, "bear fun".

To attract people, the owners of the carousels invited organ grinders. A small number of melodies were extracted from the hurdy-gurdy, and its sound in the noise of the fair crowd was not loud. Often, skating and performances were accompanied by playing the favorite among the people. harmonica. Horns and wooden horns sounded on booths. The musicians from the Vladimir region were especially famous.

Original virtuoso musicians beat out on tambourine countless different rhythms. They beat the instrument with fingers and palms, elbows, knees, forehead, threw it high above the head, rotated around the body.

Sometimes household items were used as musical instruments. Bottles filled with different amounts of water were hit with special wooden mallets, and bells attached to the cap rang.

According to the testimony of the son of the booth owner A. V. Leifert, the festivities were "a gigantic monstrous chaos of sounds, created by the simultaneous squeaking of a hurdy-gurdy, a trumpet roaring, tambourines knocking, a flute singing, a drum buzzing, talking, exclamations ... a song."

Festive festivities and fairs remained in the memory of people as a bright event. The popularity of such holidays is largely due to their availability.

Concluding our acquaintance with ancient Russian folk musical instruments, it should be noted that over the following centuries they were further developed thanks to the creative ingenuity of masters and ethnographers. The instruments that once existed were reconstructed, acquiring a new form, sound and purpose.

Vasily Bychkov